Bangladesh’s Shakib booed by home fans on World Cup break

DHAKA (AFP): Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan was booed by fans Thursday as he left Dhaka’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium after a training session on a break from the Cricket World Cup back home.

Shakib returned home on Wednesday to work with his mentor Nazmul Abedeen to settle batting issues he felt during the ongoing World Cup in neighbouring India.

Video footage seen by AFP showed a group of people jeering Shakib.

The skipper has scored only 56 runs in the four innings he has batted in the tournament, including just one in the 149-run defeat against South Africa in Mumbai on Tuesday.

He had two sessions with Nazmul in successive days before he was expected to rejoin the squad in Kolkata ahead of Bangladesh’s next match against the Netherlands.

“Some fans present in Mirpur started booing Shakib as he was getting into his car,” said reporter Maidul Islam, who witnessed the event.

“It is unprecedented… I have not heard of anyone doing this to a cricketer in Bangladesh.”

Bangladesh have won just one of their five matches they played so far.

They were at the bottom of the table after the defeat against South Africa, the side’s second biggest ever defeat in a World Cup match.

The defeat took them to the bottom of the table before Australia’s thrashing of the Netherlands and England’s defeat to Sri Lanka in the next two matches improved their position.

Shakib was at the peak of his form in the previous World Cup in England in 2019, when he made 606 runs and claimed 11 wickets.