With less than two weeks separating Bangladesh’s tours of Pakistan and India, Shakib Al Hasan found the perfect way to spend his time. He flew to Taunton, England, to represent Surrey in an English County match against Somerset. In that rain-affected match, Shakib excelled with the ball, claiming 9 wickets in total—4 in the first innings and 5 in the second.

However, Shakib's struggles with the bat continued. He has been searching for form in red-ball cricket for a while now. Injuries and breaks have kept him out of several series recently. In the last year and a half, Shakib has only featured in four Test matches. His last notable performance with the bat came in April 2023, when he scored 87 runs in an innings against Ireland in Mirpur.

While Shakib's bowling remains exceptional, his batting form is concerning. Nonetheless, BCB's selection committee member, Hannan Sarkar, believes it's just a temporary issue. Speaking at a press conference today, following the announcement of Bangladesh’s squad for the India series, Hannan downplayed Shakib's batting slump, emphasizing that a single good innings could be enough for him to regain form.

"Form is important, but Shakib isn't in form right now. However, in Test cricket, players have time to get back into rhythm, unlike in T20s or ODIs where time is limited. I believe a player of Shakib's caliber just needs one good innings," Hannan stated.

Hannan also stressed Shakib's value to the team, especially as an all-rounder. "Shakib’s presence alone puts pressure on the opposition. No one judges Shakib based on a couple of innings, and neither do we. He’s an all-rounder, and I’m confident that one good innings is all he needs to get back in form," Hannan added.