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Rusty but determined

NA1MUL KARIM from Chittagong
The Shakib Al Hasan factor was more than prominent the last time New Zealand toured Bangladesh in 2010. In the four ODIs, he bowled with a lot of vigour and took eleven wickets, chaperoned the middle order with his 200-plus runs and captained the side to their first ever whitewash.
Three years on, Bangladesh have gone through a number of changes. For one, Shakib is no longer the captain and the top order from that series has been replaced by a number of youngsters in the squad, however the ace all-rounder's role in the team remains the same. With the ball he is going to lead the attack and with the bat he is expected to bring the odds, whatever they may be, in favour of the Tigers.
However, the one factor that could play against the allrounder is that he has not had enough game time in the longer version.
Apart from missing out on the three-day practice match against the New Zealanders, which was called off due to an unplayable ground yesterday, he also could not take part in Bangladesh's only warm-up match at Khulna in early September. He did however, play a 50-over match in the Dhaka Premier League before the national camp began.
While Shakib has recovered from the thumb injury, the lack of game time in the longer format means that he remains unsure about his own form. "It's difficult to say, because I did not play longer version for a long time, so it's hard," Shakib told reporters at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday.
He was, however, confident about making the switch to the red ball. "There is obviously a difference [playing with the red ball| and it might affect my bowling and batting, but 1 have to adjust to it, that’s my duty," he said.
The 26-year-old also stated that adjusting to the newly-laid wicket quickly would be important. "There has not been a ball bowled on this wicket I think. We are going to play on a new wicket, so it will be difficult to say how it's going to behave," said Shakib, adding that the abandonment of the practice match would hurt New Zealand more than the hosts.
Furthermore, the left-hander acknowledged that the absence of Daniel Vettori - who has taken 51 wickets against Bangladesh in nine matches - due to injury would be a plus for the hosts. "Vettori has the highest number of wickets against us, so it obviously will make a difference. But this team still has good enough players and has been playing well in Tests so the competition is going to be tough," he said.
While Shakib's answers to the questions at the press conference, which were often limited to a nod of the head or just a word, did not reveal much about the player's planning or mental state, it did display his traditional no-nonsense approach. As he put it, "I have no target... no particular player that 1 am aiming for... all these factors don't matter, what matters is who plays well on the field on that day."