Shakib Al Hasan once again became the centre of attention in Bangladesh Cricket on Thursday as one of his comments during practice went viral on social media.
The incident took place during Bangladesh鈥檚 training session ahead of their opening match against Sri Lanka, which will begin at 6:30am Bangladesh time on Saturday.
Heading into the training, Shakib was chatting with the journalists present at the scene, and jokingly revealed why he couldn鈥檛 ask for prayers from fans.
鈥楴ow we can鈥檛 ask for prayers. We have become a 鈥榤ayer dowa鈥� (mother鈥檚 prayers) team. That is why I have stopped asking for prayers,鈥� he said.
That comment went viral across social media as the term hovers around these platforms whenever Bangladesh fails.
The term 鈥榤ayer dowa鈥� is a popular term used by cricket followers in the country to make fun of the failures of the national team, stating that instead of depending on their skills to perform, the Bangladesh players depend on prayers.
Shakib probably got a glimpse of it on social media and thus decided to use the term, and was met with further trolling on Facebook, while many also criticised the player.
Shakib himself, though, was busy on the day as he helped spinners Tanvir Islam and Shak Mahedi Hasan with their bowling, and also spent some time in the nets trying to get some form with the bat, something he has been missing since his return to the T20I side in the home series against Zimbabwe.