'Amazing effort' – Steve Rhodes on Shakib Al Hasan's comeback

Shakib Al Hasan, the star Bangladesh all-rounder and Test captain, had sustained a finger injury, which required him to undergo surgery. He missed all three formats of the preceding Zimbabwe series, and returned to practice only days before the start of the first Windies Test.

Rhodes said that Shakib still wasn't entirely physically fit and at the time of the start of the first Test wasn't in the best frame of mind either, despite which he led the side astutely in their 64-run victory over the Windies. He chipped in with a handy 34 in the first innings, while also claiming five wickets in the match to go past the double of 3000 runs and 200 wickets – topping Ian Botham in becoming the fastest to achieve the feat.

"I think the one thing to talk about the last Test which is really important for me is that I want to pay tribute to Shakib," Rhodes said on Sunday, November 25. "That is an amazing effort that he did (play the game).

"He only had two or three hits in the net, you can see he is not quite as physically as well as he could be. He was brilliant on the field as captain. And yet, mentally he is not quite right. To me, it was an amazing effort. He did it for Bangladesh. He did it for the whole nation. He wanted to beat the Windies. He is an important part of our team because he is the captain."

Rhodes felt that Shakib's decision to play will augur well for him as he goes into the second Test, starting 30 November.

"He is a great tactician and he played his part and he will be better for running going into the next Test match," said Rhodes. "He is maybe a little bit more ready. He has had a little bit of time in the middle. He has had some overs under his belt. He has got back in the spring of using his brain for captaincy."