Popularly known as Faisal in his family, Shakib Al Hasan was a very intelligent and clever boy. His father was a very good football player and wanted his son to be one as well. But Shakib had other interests. Even at a very young age, Shakib used to earn a fair amount of money as he used to be hired to play for different villages. In one of these matches Shakib impressed an umpire who arranged for
him to practice with the Islampur Para Club, a team in the Magura Cricket League. During the practice session, Shakib batted aggressively and bowled fast, as he usually did, but also chose to experiment with spin bowling and proved effective. PICKED UP A WICKET IN HIS VERY FIRST BALL! He was picked to play for Islampur and took a wicket with his first ball; it was his first delivery with a proper cricket ball, having previously generally played with a taped tennis ball. He spent six months training at Bangladesh Krira Shiksha Pratisthan, a government-run sports institute.
...EARLY INTERNATIONAL CAREER:
In 2005, during the final of a tri-nation tournament involving England and Sri Lanka's Under-19 teams, Shakib scored an 86-ball century and took three wickets to help his team to victory. Between 2005 and 2006, Shakib played 18 youth One Day Internationals; he scored 563 runs at an average of 35.18, and took 22 wickets at an average of 20.18. He made his international debut against Zimbabwe in 2006 and impressed one and all. Shakib Al Hasan soon became a regular member of the team and became a man to rely on. He performed consistently both with the bat and ball for Bangladesh team. ACHIEVEMENTS:
In 2009, he was rewarded as Shakib Al Hasan became the number 1 ODI all rounder. In the same year, Shakib was named the Wisden Cricketer of the year. He later became the first ever Bangladeshi to play in the English County Cricket League. Under his Captaincy, Bangladesh has defeated team like West Indies, whitewashed New Zealand and beaten the powerhouses. In 2012, recently, he also became the number 1 Test all rounder of World Cricket.
