Bangladesh Test captain Mushfiqur Rahim said they would miss the service of ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan in the Test series against South Africa.
Shakib is a very important player for Bangladesh team ...... a blower and batsman is needed in replace of Shakib ...as he is not playing so we'll try to fill up his gap with total team effort in South Africa, said the Bangladesh Test captain to the newsmen at the BCB headquarters in Mirpur on Saturday, prior to the departure for South Africa where the Tigers will play two Tests, three ODIs and a couple of T20Is, BSS reported.
The star all-rounder Shakib has been granted a break from the two-Test series against South Africa.
Mushfiq said absence of Shakib is a big blow for the team that forced them to think as a team and they want to play with what they have.
The first batch of the Bangladesh team left Dhaka this morning for Johannesburg. Mushfiqur will accompany to the second batch, scheduled to take a 7.30pm flight.
The diminutive wicket keeper said they need to take inspiration from their New Zealand tour last year when they played well despite suffering whitewash against the Black Caps. Though it's a challenging tour but we hope we have ability to play competitive cricket in South Africa, he added.
He also urged the fans not to criticize the non-performing young players of the team.
Mushfiq appealed the Soumya, Sabbir Rahman are not performing to up to their mark. They may not perform well (in South Africa) but the request would be they need the support from you guys in their bad times. It normally needs a long time to get this type of players."