IND-BAN Test Series 2024: Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha has dismissed speculation that Shakib Al Hasan will miss the second Test against India at Kanpur, which begins from September 27.

Shakib’s availability turned out to be the talking point after having suffered an injury on his finger as he batted in the first Test in Chennai, hit by a delivery from Jasprit Bumrah. Speculation strengthened as he played just eight to ten balls in the nets before deciding to come out. Having taken his body language after the net session, he did not look very comfortable either.

Shakib bowled only 21 overs in the first Test but failed to take a single wicket. It was stated that he was suffering from an injury and so, he was brought into the attack only after bowling 50 overs only in the first innings.

“I haven’t heard anything on Shakib regarding any complaints. I haven’t heard from my physio or anyone else so he is eligible for selection,” Hathurusingha told reporters at Kanpur on Wednesday.

Hathurusingha said he doesn’t care if Shakib looked out of form at the fag end of the tournament. In the two-match-series against Pakistan last month, Shakib scored only 38 runs in three innings and in the first Test against India he scored 32 and 25.

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“I am disturbed not so much by his performance, but by our overall performance and how we could have done better. I am sure that he also thinks that he can perform better and we all know what he is capable of,” said the coach.

They were not worried about the security threats that have cropped up recently, according to Hathurusingha. Security was beefed up ahead of the second Test in Kanpur after several right wing groups called to oppose matches in protest against the alleged recent attacks on Hindu communities in Bangladesh.

The three-tier security would be given to the teams and it comprises of isolation cordon, outer cordon and the outermost cordon. The Test match will have more than 1,000 police officers of different wings who have been deployed.

“We are not worried about the security. We have faith that the Indian Cricket Board is taking care of it,” he said.

“The concern is what we talk about whether we do that in the middle and we normally talk about if you get a start make it big, and that’s the biggest concern. Some of the guys are playing 30 to 40 balls and in cricket the hardest thing is to get in.”

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