'If Shakib gets 5 wickets in each innings, Test will be easier for us': Kayes
In 11 matches against the Caribbean, Shakib so far claimed 46 wickets, the highest for him against a single opponent. Of the 11 matches, he returned five-wicket haul thrice but had never taken 10 wickets against the West Indies.
But the way he rejuvenated himself as a bowler, experts believe it is not far from his reach. Even though the West Indies wicket of late started assisting the pacers like 1990's, Shakib still took 6-33 in an innings at Kingston in Bangladesh's last series in the West Indies in 2018.
Shakib, however, is back again in the Caribbean island as a captain after Mominul Haque chose to step down to concentrate more on batting.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Bangladesh so far won four matches against West Indies in 18 encounters. All four wins came under the captaincy of Shakib even though officially Mashrafe Bin Mortaza was the captain when Bangladesh beat West Indies for the first
time in 2009. But in that match, Mashrafe was injured on the day one of the Test and therefore Shakib had to lead the side throughout the match.
Kayes said Shakib is the best person to lead the side at this moment as Bangladesh have been going through a bad patch in Test cricket.
"You know better than how he (Shakib) is as a captain," Kayes, who joins Bangladesh Tigers camp in a bid to force his way back to the national side, said.
"He is proactive as a captain on the field. He is such a player who can motivate the young players. If we get Shakib regularly, I think it will benefit Bangladesh cricket."
Kayes, however, is hopeful that Bangladesh this time will change their record against West Indies who won the last four matches between the two sides.
"I know we couldn't play well against the West Indies in the last few matches. But this time we got a balanced side. We have a good pace attack and our spinners are naturally gifted," Kayes remarked.
"I don't want Bangladesh to lose the match. If they are not able to win the match, I want them to draw the match at least. I hope that we'll get something better."
