How Shakib stepped up to fill a Mashrafe-sized hole

[Torrent Disney]

Three ground-breaking days have ended with Shakib Al Hasan not only cementing his status as the face of Bangladesh cricket, but also, potentially, the architect of its future. He has taken the mantle of players' leader in the strike that ended on Wednesday, a movement that has shaken up Bangladesh cricket and brought the debate over the board's governance, functionality and performance to the fore.

Even though more than 100 professional cricketers - including Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah - also joined the movement, Shakib's presence gave it heft and credibility. There was, however, one legend-sized hole in the scenario: Mashrafe Mortaza, whose very low profile was a huge surprise given that he has always had an active role in helping the players' causes in big and small matters.

It's a vacuum that Shakib filled capably but what made him take the lead?

Truth is, he was the trigger for the strike. Three days after he signed for Rangpur Riders for the 2019-20 Bangladesh Premier League, the BCB said that the move couldn't be endorsed since the tournament's seventh edition comes under a new four-year cycle, and none of the franchises had signed the new deal.

It was a strange decision given that the BCB's chief executive had sent a letter months earlier to the same franchises to begin preparation for the next season. With that in mind, some franchises signed up players. Tamim and Mushfiqur had reportedly made similar moves, but now that the BCB had cut off Shakib's deal, automatically all the other deals were off the table.