It seems that the Messi fever, which grappled the world on December 18, has refused to leave Bangladesh. Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladeshi skipper turned up in Argentina T-shirt during a practice session on December 20 at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur. He was donning the famous number 10 jersey that the Argentine great Lionel Messi sports. Argentina has a huge fan base in Bangladesh. Argentina’s 3rd FIFA world cup triumph is surely gonna stay in this country for a while now. 

Shakib is also a huge fan of Argentina and Messi. On the night of December 18, he was spotted by fans driving his car wearing a jersey bearing Messi’s name. The fans waved at him and he waved back at them. The video has gone viral on Twitter. 

In the meantime, some worrying news came up for the Bangladeshi cricket fans regarding skipper Shakib from their head coach Russel Domingo. He hinted that Shakib might play the 2nd test match as a pure batter. He is said to be carrying a shoulder and rib injury. The spinner only bowled 12 overs during the first test match against India across innings. 

Domingo believes that Shakib not bowling his overs left a huge void in their bowling attack in the previous test match. India is leading the 2-test match series by 1-0. India would be aiming to whitewash Bangladesh at their home and consolidate their position in the WTC 2021-23 points table. India must at least win 4 out of their remaining 5 games to secure a final date with Australia (strong chance) at the World Test Championship 2021-23.