Online Desk: It took less than 24 hours for Shakib Al Hasan to shift his focus back to cricket, having won the national elections for his constituency Magura-1.

The ace all-rounder came to the indoor nets in Mirpur yesterday afternoon after several national stars had already left following respective individual sessions.

A majority of media personnel followed suit as a result. While the remaining few were planning to exit the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS) shortly, Shakib’s arrival thus caught them off guard.

However, no sooner had the news of his arrival broke out in local news sites, a throng of media personnel arrived, forced to stay till sunset which is when Shakib’s training concluded.

He was congratulated by groundsmen with garlands of flowers. Preferring not to be counted as a politician in Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) premises, Shakib told the groundsmen: “This is not politics. This is the cricket field. I am still holding the same old position [as a cricketer].”

That he was eager to get going in familiar territory was apparent the moment he stepped down from his car, brandishing a brand-new bat which he carried to the indoor nets. His childhood mentor Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, who had arrived just earlier, oversaw Shakib’s batting session.

Shakib had been out with a finger injury since the ICC ODI World Cup game against Sri Lanka and missed the Test series at home against New Zealand and the subsequent white-ball tour of New Zealand. In a recent interview with The Daily Star, he informed that he would be returning to action with the franchise-based Bangladesh Premier League, slated to begin on January 19, and his activity yesterday was part of that process.

Although his political engagements during his stay in Magura had kept him busy, he tried to keep himself physically active with a few sessions there as well.

Shakib was back to batting with cricket balls at the nets for the first time yesterday. “Yeah, no complaints regarding his finger while he was batting,” Fahim told The Daily Star yesterday.

“I haven’t seen him bowl yet but once he does that, I will be able to tell. His batting looked really good.”

As reporters keenly watched him from afar, the sound from his bat showcased that he was enjoying his time back in cricket following the rigours of politics.

“Yes, there can be doubts within himself since he doesn’t get this kind of gap [in cricket activities]. So, once he gets into his groove, it becomes okay in no time,” Fahim added when asked whether removing rustiness from his batting was on the agenda.

The No.1 allrounder in ICC’s current ODI and T20I rankings made his way to the SBNCS field to undergo some training exercises as he ran across the turf, catching his breath after each run.

He also used a soft ball, rolling his arm around to bowl a few deliveries which is part of the rehabilitation process for his injured left index finger.

A BCB official told The Daily Star, “There is still some pain in the finger but it’s not a matter of concern since 70-80 percent of the pain has gone away.

“He has been busy for the last few weeks but now since he is free, he will focus on strengthening his finger. Since a substantial amount of pain has gone away so if he works on those things, he will be alright ahead of the BPL.”