ICC World Cup 2023: Shakib Al Hasan to play in Bangladesh's World Cup opener vs Afghanistan

Shakib Al Hasan suffered an injury before World Cup warm-up game against Sri Lanka.

Najmul Hossain Shanto, Bangladesh's stand-in captain, has confirmed that regular captain Shakib Al Hasan is 100% fit and will play in the team’s ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 opening match against Afghanistan on October 7.

Shakib reportedly hurt his foot playing football during a practice session ahead of Bangladesh's first warm-up game against Sri Lanka on September 29 in Guwahati, according to the commentators on the official broadcast of that game.

He didn't participate in that match, which Bangladesh won by seven wickets with Mehidy Hasan Miraz captaining the team, and now he's once again seen taking a rest.

At Asia Cup earlier this month, Bangladesh was unable to advance past super four round, but they did end well by defeating India in their final match. In the following three-match home series against New Zealand, they selected various experimental teams and fell short 2-0.

One of their better players at Asia Cup was Shakib, who contributed to the victory over India by taking Suryakumar Yadav's wicket and scoring 80 runs off 85 balls.

Shakib Al Hasan will be available for Bangladesh’s first World Cup 2023 match: Najmul Hossain Shanto

Overall, Shakib Al Hasan is the most experienced player in Bangladeshi side, along with Mushfiqur Rahim. Shakib has played 240 ODIs, scoring 7384 runs with nine centuries. He has 308 wickets as well, with a best of 5/29.

Najmul Hossain Shanto confirmed Shakib’s participation in Bangladesh’s opening match of ICC World Cup 2023. They will face Afghanistan in Dharamshala on October 7.

Shanto said at the toss: “We'll bat first. It's a fresh wicket. Good opportunity to bat first. (On Shakib) He is 100% fine, he'll be available for the first match. We played some good cricket in the last game, but we still need to improve. I hope everyone plays well.”

Shakib is the team's best all-around player and essential to Bangladesh's aspirations of performing well at the World Cup. Particularly in light of some disappointing outcomes leading up to the major event and the chain of circumstances that resulted in Tamim Iqbal's exclusion from World Cup roster.