The world’s No 1 all-rounder in one-day cricket has been out of action since end of February due to an inflammation at the front of the pelvis within the pubic bone and muscle attachments. The condition is known as Osteitis Pubis (OP) and can cause acute and chronic groin pain.

Chief selector Rafiqul Alam expressed his satisfaction seeing Shakib back in the field. “Actually he has been batting and bowling for the last 15 days in the nets but today he came out to bowl and field. He says he feel okay,” said the former national cricketer.

The 22-year-old sounded relieved to be back to cricket after such a long time and was confident of a quick recovery. “It felt good out there. The pain was originally on the right side but it has receded a lot. I have been doing everything in the nets but this is the first time I have bowled in a match situation in over two months,” Shakib told TigerCricket.com.

“I have to speak to the physio and see when I can bat because that involves running. Hopefully it will be against the Maharashtra team next week. I am batting in practice however and haven’t faced any problems. The rehab programme will continue but I am definitely feeling much better already.”

Shakib’s left-arm spin accounted for Bangladesh A batsmen Sharifullah, Suharwardi Shuvo and Mahbubul Alam Robin in the second Twenty20 tie that the national team won by 49 runs.

Apart from Shakib’s return, the two matches gave some good signs for the Tigers including the form of Tamim Iqbal and Syed Rasel, who picked up five wickets in the two matches.

“Tamim (Iqbal) has been good in every match and (Syed) Rasel looks to be in good form,” pointed Rafiq who added that among the two new additions, only Mithun Ali is showing promise, scoring 25 off 20 balls with in the second match.

But the Chittagong left-hander seems to be the only batsman who is scoring big in the 20-over version but Rafiq pointed out the condition of wicket and the players’ fitness level.

“The wickets are different, yesterday (Wednesday) it was grassy while today (Thursday) the wicket was dry. I also think we should give the players time to recover after the PCL,” opined Rafiq.

The former national batsman was however pretty confident with the likes of Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad and Shahadat Hossain despite the trio not having fired in the last two days of Twenty20 cricket. Rahim and Riyad had a poor time with the bat while Shahadat gave 25 from his three overs in the first game in the morning.

“(Mahmudullah) Riyad seems to be in form and I think Mushfiqur (Rahim) is a good enough batsman to get runs. Among the bowlers, Shahadat (Hossain) bowled well and Rubel (Hossain) is bowling fast,” added Rafiq.

Back to the day’s proceedings and the national line-up had a wretched time in the first match. Barring Tamim’s blazing 66 off 52 balls, none of the England-bound cricketers reached double figures. Eventually the Tigers were kept at 133-9 from 20 overs which the second-string side chased in 19.2 overs with Mehrab Hossain hitting 48 off 45 balls.

In the second match, the Bangladesh batsmen got starts with Mithun’s 25 and 20 each from Rokibul Hasan and Nayeem Islam but none of them pressed on as they added together 140-7 in 20 overs. Bangladesh A were bowled out for 91 runs in 16.5 overs.

Some of the national cricketers will now take on Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) in three Twenty20 matches starting on Sunday.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chief selector Rafiqul Alam said Shamsur Rahman, 20, and Mohammad Mithun, 18, had been rewarded for their good batting form in domestic cricket.

“Shamsur has been batting tremendously in recent years,” said Alam. “He can bat at number three which has been a weak link in our batting. He is also a brilliant fielder.

“Mithun also scored heavily in the leagues. He is a hard-hitting batsman and can also double up as wicketkeeper,” he said.

The selectors recalled experienced left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak, who was reported for a suspect bowling action in November and suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Razzak, 26, reworked his action and was cleared to play international cricket in March.

“Razzak is our top spinner and has got a lot of wickets. He is an obvious choice in the team,” said Alam of the bowler, who has 111 wickets in 81 one-day internationals and seven wickets in five Tests.

Seamers Shahdat Hossain and Syed Rasel were also recalled, while frontline batsman Mohammad Ashraful was retained as captain.

Bangladesh are drawn with Ireland and India in the preliminary round of next month’s event which will be played in London and Nottingham from June 5-21.

Bangladesh’s squad:

Mohammad Ashraful (capt), Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Junaid Siddique, Raqibul Hasan, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Naeem Islam, Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain, Syed Rasel, Mohammad Mahmudullah, Rubel Hossain, Shamsur Rahman and Mohammad Mithun.

Coach: Jamie Siddons (AUS)

The cricketers with the exception of Mohammad Ashraful and Masrafe Bin Mortaza, had been asked to report to Bangladesh team head coach Jamie Siddons at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium for training by 8:30 am today. Ashraful and Mashrafe currently are in South Africa to play the glamorous Indian Premier League for their respective franchise. The duo will join the squad directly in England.

Chief selector Rafiqul Alam informed the players from the original list of 30 who had not been picked in the shortened squad will be on stand-by. These cricketers will be available for selection in the Bangladesh A Team, Under 19 Team and GP-BCB National Cricket Academy Team.

Team Management of Bangladesh A, Under 19 and GP-BCB Academy have been instructed to give special attention to fitness and performance of these players so that they are mentally and physically prepared to play if they are called up in the National T20 Squad.

The final squad of 15 for the ICC World T20 will be officially announced in the first week of May, informed the chief selector.  The players, who will play in the Chittagong Twenty20 Premier Cricket League will be allowed to be absence in practice session.

“We want to give them a chance to cope with the shorter format of the game. As we don’t have any chance to play any Twenty20 match, the tournament organised by the Chittagong authority is great really which would help the players,” said Rafiqul.

The team management informed Shakib Al Hasan is yet to recover from his injury fully and he would not take part in the formal practice session as per cautionary measurement for some days but he will be with the squad and will do some light practice. The team management doesn’t want to take any risk with the most valuable player. After recovering fully, he will take part in the practice session.

“We want Shakib as a full fit player. He is our main weapon and we don’t want to take any risk with his,” added Rafiqul. Before the mega event, Bangladesh will play six shorter version warm-up matches, all at the SBNS.

Bangladesh national squad will play the first three warm-up matches against second string Bangladesh A team — two matches on May 13 and the other on May 15. The Tigers will play the remaining three matches against India’s Maharashtra Cricket Association team on May 17, 18 and 19 respectively.

Squad: Mohammad Ashraful, Masrafe Bin Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Zunaed Siddique, Roqibul Hassan, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Naeem Islam, Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain Rajib, Syed Rasel, Mehrab Hossain Junior, Imrul Kayes, Mahmud Ullah  Ryad, Nazmul Hossain, Mahbubul Alam Robin, Rubel Hossain, Ziaur Rahman, Shamsur Rahman Shuvo, Suhrawardi Shuvo and Mohammad Mithun.