IPL 2018
Shakib Al Hasan is a match-winner, implies Muralitharan
The most successful bowler in the history of the game, Muttiah Muralitharan, heaped praise on Bangladesh Test and T20I captain Shakib Al Hasan for his role in the Sunrisers Hyderabad team.
Murali, who took 800 wickets in Tests and 534 wickets in ODIs and is the bowling coach of the Sunrisers, believes that Shakib’s value is higher than players who perform well in one discipline. He stated that even though very few people speak of him, his all-round abilities make him a match-winner.
"I was talking to Tom [Moody] about Shakib [Al Hasan]. Everyone doesn't talk about him but what [a] contribution he gives to the team! He is more valuable than somebody getting 80 runs in a T20. Just get two wickets and get about 20 runs and that will win the match," he said to NDTV.
Shakib Al Hasan might not have had a massively world-beating Indian Premier League, but his contributions with both the bat and the ball have helped SRH win many games.
One can’t forget his stingy innings with Manish Pandey against Mumbai Indians and then with Kane Williamson against Royal Challengers, both of which helped Hyderabad post decent scores on the board and later successfully defend it.
Shakib has scored 158 runs from 11 games this season and has taken 12 wickets thus far with the ball for the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Picture credit: BCCI