Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan is planning to begin preparation ahead of his return to competitive cricket through an intense training camp at the BKSP institute in Bangladesh from September, report agencies. Shakib is serving a one-year ban imposed on him by the ICC after he failed to inform multiple suspicious approaches from a bookmaker named Deepak Agarwal.
According to Shakib's mentor Nazmul Abedin, the all-rounder is expected to be in Dhaka (he is in USA with his family) by the end of August and looking to start preparation from September for the second innings of his international career at the very place his cricketing journey began. Incidentally, Shakib had planned to arrange a training program in Leicestershire, UK but the pandemic situation forced him to drop it and choose BKSP instead.
Nazmul is one of Shakib's earliest coaches in the sport, having served as the chief coack at BKSP - the only sports institute in the country - when a teenage Shakib enrolled there as a teenager to learn the ropes of cricket. Nazmul, who also worked as BCB's game development manager for many years, recently joined BKSP the cricket advisor and is excited to reunite with one of his blue-eyed students.
Although Nazmul is yet to chart an itinerary for his ward, chief in his training agenda is to take help from BKSP's sports science department to have Shakib undertake a physiological test during his stay. "From September, Shakib will start residential training at BKSP and though we are yet to determine the time span of the training phase it can prolong for more than a month if required," Nazmul told Cricbuzz.
"We will take help of the sports science department of BKSP to have his physiological test as that will help us determine his current state in a precise manner. We will have coaches and trainers available as we are functional considering the coaches are all residing within the campus, so we can work with him well.
"Beside the cricket coaches, coaches from other sports like boxing and athletics will also help him. He will use the gym and all the facilities so he will have everything at his disposal," Nazmul added.
Nazmul said the initial phase of Shakib's camp will focus on fitness and skill work and only later will he move his pupil to centre-wicket practice and match environment simula
tions. Shakib's suspension ends on October 29.