THE WORLD IS HIS OYSTER: The number one one-day all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has now grabbed the top prize of Wisden Cricketer's Test Player of the Year 2009. PHOTO: INTERNET

Having been inexplicably ignored at the ICC Cricket Awards last week, the smile returned to Shakib al Hasan's lips yesterday as the Bangladesh all-rounder was named by respected cricket monthly The Wisden Cricketer - - as the best Test player of the year.
The 22-year-old talisman of Bangladesh saw off stiff challenges from marquee names such as Sachin Tendulkar, Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Andrew Flintoff to snatch the award. The win came on the back of a sterling season for Shakib, in which he took 45 wickets including five five-wicket hauls and scored 498 runs in 8 Tests.
“It is very exciting. I am extremely happy,” said Shakib when queried about his initial reaction to the win.
"It is really the best award I have ever got because journalists from all over the world voted for me. This joy is hard to express in words,” continued Shakib.
Ever the team man, the left-hander was quick to distribute credit for his victory among his teammates.
“As a team, this award will only take us forward. I never thought that I would receive such lofty recognition. But this is a reminder of what hard work gets for you. Hopefully this will inspire my teammates, including myself, to work even harder for the development of Bangladesh cricket,” he said.
Shakib topped the performance table of all Test match players based on marks awarded by Wisden Cricketer's correspondents who reported on every Test played during the period. He averaged 7.94 out of 10 for each of the eight Tests he played between the beginning of September 2008 and the end of August 2009.
So did he feel he deserved the award?
“That is a hard question to answer. I did not honestly think that I would win, but now that I have received the award, I do think that I deserved it,” was his witty reply.
And deserve it he did. Shakib's performance chart spiked during the historic tour to the West Indies while playing a weakened side, but saying that contributed to the award win would be taking away from the all-rounder's fantastic consistency with bat and ball throughout the year, against any opposition, home and away.
His left-arm spin bamboozled New Zealand at home, but he was equally sharp in the fast wickets of South Africa. His performance against Sri Lanka was nothing short of admirable and the added burden of captaincy only brought out the best in him at the Caribbean.
“I would say that my best performance for the year would be my 7-wicket haul against New Zealand in Chittagong closely followed by the twin 96's that I got against Sri Lanka and West Indies,” said Shakib.
“I was disappointed at missing out on the century [against West Indies] but the win for Bangladesh more than made up for it.”
The Wisden award was the icing on the cake for Shakib in a year, in which he made the ICC's Best Test Eleven and has been the number one all-rounder in the world in ODI's for the best part.
Things can hardly get any rosier.
However, amidst all of this, Shakib's strongest quality that shines through is his ability to put things in perspective.
“Things are good today, but they can just be as bad tomorrow. Therefore I try not to get carried away [with awards]. And I think neither do my teammates. Collectively, at the moment, we are just concentrating on improving.”
The Wisden Cricketer is the world's biggest-selling cricket magazine. It was launched in 2003 as a result of a merger between Wisden Cricket Monthly and The Cricketer. Shakib's victory was revealed via a press release yesterday and its November issue, released in the UK today will feature the Bangladesh star.