IPL 2017 | Shakib Al Hasan set to leave KKR early

Having only played the game this season, against the Gujarat Lions, and finishing with figures of 0/31, Shakib is all set to make a move to county cricket so as to acclimatise himself with English conditions ahead of the Champions Trophy. But being the professional that he is, Shakib said that he understood that opportunities in the IPL are limited for overseas players.

“As professional crickets, we are aware that opportunities will be limited. But whoever isn’t playing is also ready. I am taking this positively. I could not contribute much for the team this time. But as a team, we are doing well. That’s important. First, your team must do well. No scope for complaining. Hope we will be champions again, although I won’t be here till the end,” Shakib told HT.

Despite playing a starring role when Kolkata won the title in 2014, Shakib has found chances hard to come by this year owing to the success of the KKR spinners and the changing nature of the Eden Gardens wicket. With the pitch helping pacers more than spinners and the form of Kuldeep Yadav, the Bangladeshi has been restricted to the role of a spectator this season.

“We are in a good position. The whole season, we have played dominating cricket. We did well against them a few days ago. In IPL, every team is competitive. There’s not much of a difference between top and bottom-placed teams. We will lose occasionally, but I have full faith in our team to do well,” Shakib added.

While Gautam Gambhir has been in exceptional form in the IPL so far with 387 runs to his name, his contributions have been immense as KKR find themselves in the second spot on the table with 7 wins from 10 games. Shakib was all praise for the way Gambhir has led his troops in the current edition of the league thus far.

“The way he manages the team is exceptional. It is not easy to captain in franchise cricket. Look at his results: almost every year we have qualified for the playoffs. Not many teams have been able to maintain that,” Hasan said.

Did you know, Shakib became the first and only cricketer in history to be ranked the No.1 all-rounder by ICC in its Player Rankings in all three formats of the game (Test, Twenty20 and One Day Internationals).



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