AB de Villiers dissects Shakib Al Hasan’s viral helmet strap bite

AB de Villiers and Shakib Al Hasan. (Photo Source: X(Twitter)

During the first Test match between Bangladesh and India at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium, Bangladesh’s star all-rounder, Shakib Al Hasan, was seen biting his helmet string while batting on Day 2.

Hasan walked in to bat with his team struggling at 36/4. Despite the pressure, he managed to get his innings off to a firm start with a few quick boundaries. However, his unique helmet string-biting technique became the major talking point.

Former South African skipper AB de Villiers opened up on Shakib’s unusual technique and the reason for wearing the helmet in that manner could be a possible eye issue the southpaw is suffering from.,

“Shakib Al Hasan playing against India in the Test match was seen biting on a strap while batting. Now I can sort of relate to that in a way he explained that it’s because of an eye issue, which I also had, towards the back end of my career,” the South African said on his YouTube channel.

Watch the video below: 

Also Read: Explained: Why was Shakib Al Hasan chewing on thread while batting?

He is doing it just to keep that balance: AB de Villiers 

De Villiers further explained the importance of maintaining balance while batting. He gave an example from his playing days before he faced an eye issue.

“I have never really struggled with a balanced thing, except for the fact that throughout my entire career, even before my eye issue, I always get my chin as close as possible to my left shoulder, these things work in tandem and I don’t lose my balance. So when the head is disjointed from the rest of the body its very easy for you to fall over, and in Shakib’s example fall over to that side because he is a left-hander but that’s probably the reason why he is doing it just to keep that balance and he explains that its got something to do with that eye issues he has got,” he added.

Former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik, while commentating, revealed that Shakib’s former teammate Tamim Iqbal had shared the reason behind this technique. According to Karthik, the string helps Shakib prevent his head from falling towards the leg side and keeps it straight while facing deliveries.

The 37-year-old has been struggling with vision problems and even consulted an ophthalmologist in London earlier this year. This isn’t the first time he’s been observed using this technique, he was previously seen biting his jersey during the Global T20 Canada.

Despite his efforts, Shakib’s innings in the Chennai Test was cut short at 32 runs off 64 balls in the first innings. He fell victim to Ravindra Jadeja’s bowling while attempting a reverse sweep. The team eventually lost the Chennai Test by 280 runs.