Coaches explain why Shakib not yet amongst the runs

Ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan returned to cricket through the Bangabandhu T20 Cup following the end of his one-year ban. There had been suggestions that Shakib would get into his groove right away --expectations based on his tremendous form with the bat in the World Cup in England -- but that has not yet been the case.

Scores of 15, 12, 3 and 11 lays credence to the fact that Shakib will still need a bit of time to get going, although he still showed a lot of authority while playing some of his favourite shots during the tournament.

While Shakib had not been able to stay at the crease long, there were a few occasions where he felt comfortable with some of his strokes but the execution was simply not there. Beximco Dhaka coach Khaled Mahmud pointed to hand-eye coordination as playing a big factor in his dismissals.

"Shakib returned to cricket after a long time. But Shakib is Shakib, the number one all-rounder. Maybe he didn't turn up as well with the bat, however with the ball he is doing what is typical. He is bowling well in every game," Mahmud said of Shakib.

"The expectations from him are great when it comes to batting. I believe that he is a very good player and performs throughout the year. He will comeback, maybe he is biding his time. The hand-eye coordination factor is there since he returned after a long time but he will comeback."

Shakib's team Gemcon Khulna's assistant coach Aftab Ahmed reminded that day by day, Shakib was improving.

"When a player returns after a long time, it's hard to cover all aspects [of the game]. There is no doubt that he is the number one all-rounder and can make a comeback anytime. He is in good shape. He is in much better shape than he was in the first two matches and I'm hoping he will do something good in the next four matches," Aftab said.

Shakib, who has picked up two wickets with the ball while also consistently containing batsmen, will have his chance to get back into scoring form when his side Khulna take on Tamim Iqbal's Fortune Barishal on Friday at 12 PM.