Why Shakib didn’t bat in BPL eliminator against Rangpur

Shakib Al Hasan, one of the best batters at the ongoing BPL, opted not to come out to bat in the all-important eliminator against Rangpur Riders. Instead, Fortune Barishal promoted Mahmudullah in Shakib's preferred number three position. Shakib held himself back even after the fall of two more wickets. 

Shakib has 375 runs at an average of 41.6 and strike-rate of 174. It was a surprising call and eventually Barishal were eliminated by Rangpur. 

Regarding this, Barishal coach Nazmul Abedeen Fahim was quizzed at the post-match press conference. "It was the captain's call of course. But he obviously discussed it with us. He was comfortable sending them ahead of him as they are good players. He wanted them to accelerate and have a couple of big overs. But we couldn't do so."

"Shakib probably thought Karim Janat and [Bhanuka] Rajapaksa would finish with a flourish if given license after a great start. He wanted them to score as quickly as possible so that he can do his job later. But the plan didn't work."

"The decision to send Karim and Rajapaksa didn't pay dividends because of the pitch or good bowling or some other reason. Given the foundation, we should have scored 190 or even more. But we couldn't use the platform well," he said.

Fahim admitted that Shakib should have batted higher in the eliminator and opined that the Barishal captain was the "best possible option" at that time.