13.7! Shakib gets highest score in fitness test

Although Shakib Al Hasan has been away from all forms of cricket for the last year, his fitness has not been hampered one bit.

The ace allrounder took part in the fitness test on Wednesday morning at the Sher-e-Bangla national cricket stadium in Mirpur and got a remarkable score of 13.7.

This was the highest score in the beep test among all the cricketers that took part in it, ahead of the Twenty20 tournament organised by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).

Cricketers have been taking part in the beep test over the last two days to prove their fitness ahead of the tournament and only a handful managed a score of 12.

Shakib looked a lot leaner during his time away from cricket and that was the case even recently when he went to train at the BKSP during the nigh end of his ban.

But he admitted that he had put on some weight after his return from the ban and wasn't as fit as he was during his last visit to the country. 

BCB's fitness trainer Tushar Kanti was full of praise for the 33-year-old and told The Business Standard: "Shakib is in excellent physical condition. I've never seen him get such a high score before. This is the result of hard work." 

He also admitted that these things from Shakib don't surprise him: "We all know he's cut above the rest. Same applies for Mushfiqur Rahim. Them getting high marks is not surprising," 

The minimum score required to pass in the beep test is 11 for the T20 tournament set by the BCB and most cricketers have been passing it.  

There have however been some cricketers who have failed to get the pass mark, none more so than Nasir Hossain who got a score of just 8.5. 

The players' draft for the T20 tournament is set to take place on Thursday.