Mominul can take a break, if he needs: Shakib

Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan backed Mominul Haque, saying that the 'out of form' batter can take a break if he needs it.

Mominul's lean batting streak extended to the ninth straight single-digit figure when he scored 0 and 4 in the two innings of the first Test, which Bangladesh eventually lost by seven wickets.

After scoring a tremendous 88 at the start of the year which enabled Bangladesh to a memorable victory against New Zealand, Mominul made just 78 runs in the last 12 innings with the highest of 37.

"It is tough for me to say, but I speak to him [Mominul] regularly and we will talk again," Shakib said after the first Test in Antigua.

"If he thinks he needs a break, it can happen. It is not ideal to make a decision just after a match. We have a break for two days. On our next day of training in St Lucia, we will think about what's best for the team."

On West Indies soil, Mominul's record however didn't speak augurs well for him. In five Tests on Caribbean Island, he scored just 142 runs with the best of 56, averaging a meager 14.20.

In a bid to concentrate on batting, Mominul has recently stepped down from the captaincy, paving Shakib's way to lead the side for the third time.

But despite continuing the bad patch, Mominul probably would get another chance as Shakib hinted.

"You cannot guarantee that a lot of changes will be good for the team," Shakib said.

"But if you look at the numbers, we have lost four wickets for less than 100 runs in 12 out of the 16 innings. That is pretty worrying. Only a concerted team effort can get us out of here. I know we can get out of this. We have been here before, so I believe we can come out," he added.