How ‘pacer’ Shakib became a leading spinner 

Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan couldn't stay away from the field for too long despite being occupied in campaigning for the upcoming general elections where he will be contesting for the ruling Awami League from the Magura-1 constituency in his hometown.  

The ace all-rounder, who is recovering from a finger injury, gave the crowd at Magura city's Nomani Maidan a glimpse of his genius with both bat and ball in a tape-tennis exhibition match involving former local players organised to commemorate Bangladesh's Victory Day on Friday.

The venue is a special one for the 36-year-old as it helped kickstart his cricketing journey. After the match, he reminisced about his beginnings as a cricketer at the ground and revealed what made him make the switch from being a pacer to Bangladesh's leading spinner. 

"Gorki bhai told me to come here and play for his team. He saw me play in a tournament and took a liking to how I played. I was so shy that I couldn't come for training on the first day. I came back again the next afternoon. Then I waited and waited, almost till the stroke of dusk before going to him.

"I told him that he asked me to come. He told me to get on and bowl. I bowled a bit on the first day and then bowled spin and batted on the second day. He [Gorki bhai] told me to stick to bowling spin and after that, I became a spinner. Till then, I was a fast bowler or someone who bowled whatever was needed," Shakib told attending journalists after the match on Friday.