If you list the world's best all-rounders of all time, the legendary Protea all-rounder Jacques Kallis will occupy a big place. Ashwell Prince, the batting consultant of the South African team, created a discussion by comparing him with Shakib Al Hasan.

Shakib wanted to say goodbye to white-shirt cricket with the two-match series starting on October 21 against South Africa. However, due to security reasons, this former Awami League member of parliament is not returning to the country. As a result, he had to be dropped from this series even though he was in the squad. Later Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced the new squad excluding him.

Shakib's absence in the Test series is considered a big loss for the Bangladesh team, Ashwell Prince said. He said, 'It is a big series for both teams. Shakib is a very important player as an all-rounder, much like Jacques Kallis was for us. If he does not play, it will be difficult to balance the team. Then you have to be in doubt whether you play left-arm spinner or batsman.'

But Prince is well aware that over the past few years, Shakib has withdrawn his name from the national team series on various pretexts. Due to this, BCB had to face difficulties in forming the team at the last moment. Prince, who served as the batting coach of the Bangladesh team a couple of years ago, thinks, 'This is not the first time that there is such uncertainty about Shakib. This is nothing new for them (Bangladesh team).'

Incidentally, the first Test of this series, which is part of the World Championship, will begin on October 21 in Mirpur. The second Test will be played in Chittagong on October 29.