When did you start playing cricket?
Late 2002 I started playing with a cricket ball for the first time (he was then 15). I used to be more interested in football as my cousin played for the national team and my father was an amateur player too. I was an attacking midfielder.

How were you spotted by Bangladesh cricket scouts?
There was a talent hunt camp initiated by BKSP (the Bangladesh Institute of Sport) where they give trials to raw talent spotted at various cities around the country. The camps have developed national stars not only in cricket but also football, boxing and athletics. Everything I learnt was from there and the coaches they had - Salahuddin, who is our fielding coach now, and Fahim Nasmulla-uddin. These two guys helped me a lot about batting and bowling. I always tried to bowl spin but they made me more polished.

How did your parents have an influence on your career (his father is a government employee and works in a bank)?
When I got the chance to be admitted in BKSP that was a very big decision for me as I was in Class 9 at the time and it meant I had to go back to Class 8 and study for an extra year. So my parents helped me to take that decision, which was not easy for them. Fortunately that decision worked for me.

Education seems an important part of your life after you missed the Asia Cup in 2008 to take 12 O Levels. Are you still studying?
Right now I am specialising in English and have been admitted to AIUB (American International University of Bangladesh). The class started on May 24 so I will have to catch up. I feel this course will help my cricket. I don’t think I will miss too much cricket, they are very keen to help me combine my cricket and studies. 

You are now one of the star sporting figures from Bangladesh. Do you like the fame that comes with this status?
I enjoy the fame very much. People always want autographs and photos - all over Asia, especially India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the fans just love cricket. When I scored 92 against Sri Lanka when we won the match recently, I received something like 1,000 missed calls and 700 SMS messages. These people found my number somehow!

You took seven wickets in an innings against New Zealand last year. Was this the match that showed that you can be a great bowler as well as batsman?
Before then I wasn’t a regular spinner in a Test match but since then I became a front-line spinner and have regularly taken five wickets. That match was a turnaround for my bowling.

So who is the toughest batsman you have ever faced?
Graeme Smith would be one of them because he played me well, and also Ashwell Prince and Matthew Hayden – mostly the left-handed batsmen because it is easier for them (with the ball spinning into them). In terms of the toughest bowler I would say Andrew Flintoff - I faced him once in the 2007 World Cup.

How does it feel to be ahead of Flintoff, Jacques Kallis and Co. as the number one-ranked all-rounder in limited overs cricket?
I didn’t plan for this, I just wanted to play cricket and enjoy my life. But now I want to be one of the best cricketers in the world – in Tests, 50-over and T20. I also have ambitions for my team as well, I want to see them in the top three in the world. I had mixed feelings about reaching No. 1. I didn’t realise I was that close (to the top). I just enjoy my cricket and each time I go out on to the field I try to improve myself. I never thought ‘I am better than Flintoff or Kallis’ – I just play my cricket. The last six months have been excellent with everything going so well, at batting, bowling and fielding. I am enjoying every moment, I like to take on challenges

What can Bangladesh realistically achieve at the 2009 ICC World Twenty20?
Our target is to get to the second round and play all the big teams. In Twenty20 anything can happen and as we showed at the last World Cup we are capable of beating big teams. If we can do it again, that would be nice.

Who is your favourite wicket in your career?
We had a series against South Africa and I took the wicket of AB de Villiers, which was exciting for me because he had never before been out for a duck in Test cricket. I was the first bowler to give him a duck (out stumped). We knew this before and the boys were telling him that this would be the first time you will be out for a duck. We ran around the field afterwards and enjoyed that wicket very much.

Shakib Al Hasan was speaking to Richard Sydenham

Send in your comments or opinions on this interview or any related topic to fans@bigstarcricket.com and see them published