Shakib’s absence won’t impact outcome

Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque believes the absence of experienced all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan will not have a major impact on the outcome of the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka.

Bangladesh will leave for the island nation tomorrow to play two Test matches, to be held later this month in Kandy, and the Test skipper said they will have to live with the reality of missing senior players in various tours. 

"I don't think it's true that we can't get a result in absence of Shakib (Al Hasan) and Mustafizur (Rahman). They don't have 10-12 hands of their own. There are other players in the squad too. I don't think this (absence of Shakib) has had an impact on the results. What is happening is that we are not being able to play as a team," Mominul told reporters at BCB this afternoon.

The left-handed batsman also thinks the ones who get a chance in place of Shakib and Mustafiz need to grab the opportunity with both hands. 

"We may have senior players like Shakib bhai missing in many series. So it is an opportunity for the others who get a chance. So it is better that we prepare ourselves in that way," Mominul said.

The 29-year-old feels that the Test specialists and those who played red-ball cricket recently will be more accustomed to the demand of the Test series than those who have been busy playing white-ball cricket in the recent New Zealand tour. 

"We have had decent preparation in light of the current prevailing situation over the last one year or more. You can't have preparation like normal times now. But I think the Test players like myself have had decent preparation. We have played two four-day matches and had practice sessions too. So those who play Tests regularly have had decent preparation, but that is not true for the one-day players. The white-ball players will have to adjust with things mentally," the skipper said.