Would love to see him retire with 8000+ ODI runs and 350+ wickets. That would mean he will end up one of the best ODI all rounders of all time ahead of Ian Botham, Kapil Dev, Pollock, Imran Khan, Flintoff etc. I mean statistics wise, so please dont launch an assault on how dare i compare Shakib with these legends. Only Jayasuriya and Kallis would be ahead of him.
He's still 26, and only played 129 ODI's. Kallis has played 321 ODI's, Jayasuriya 445. I do hope Shakib plays for another decade or so. He'll definitely get there. But to play till you are 35 or 36 isnt easy and sth rare in Bangladeshi cricket. Most of the time injuries, poor fitness come into play. Younger players will also challenge. So Shakib will have to continue to work very hard.
In the 90's, Sri Lanka cricket had this issue. Guys like Ranatunga and De Silva would come to practice sessions, pad up go directly to the nets, enjoy batting practice and quietly escape the tougher fitness, fielding drills. Dav Whatmore challenged that, changed that. Today Sangakkara demonstrates the opposite. At 35 he is still going strong. Its not just his natural talent, he still continues to work very hard at his game. A perfectionist who never stops learning. Here's an interesting read on what i am trying to explain
http://www.espncricinfo.com/sri-lank...ry/624169.html
Lesson in it for Shakib or any other Bangladeshi cricketers. You dont get there only with talent. You have to back it up with pure old fashioned hard work