'IPL will help Shakib prepare better for the T20 World Cup'

While Shakib Al Hasan's decision to not play the Tests against Sri Lanka and instead play the IPL has been met with mostly negative reactions from the Bangladesh fans, former national team selector Faruk Ahmed thinks otherwise.

"Shakib is a brand for our cricket. He was away from cricket for a year and he looked uneasy while batting even though his bowling rhythm was spot on. In the last IPL, he played well and got a lot of games and look what he did in the 2019 World Cup," Faruk told The Business Standard (TBS). 

Faruk believes that Shakib has shown before what he can do in the World Cup and with the T20 World Cup happening later this year, he will be better prepared for that. 

"He got centuries and also took wickets for us and he was our best performer by far. That's why I feel that the IPL will help him prepare better for the upcoming T20 World Cup. A few players and their good performance can help take the team far in this format," he explained.

Shakib isn't the only cricketer that is skipping national team duties to play in this lucrative franchise-based T20 tournament. 

"If you look in the recent past, there are cricketers that have retired from international cricket and still continued to play T20 franchise cricket such as the IPL. I'm not encouraging this decision by the cricketers but that is what has been happening," Faruk added.