Shakib was appointed captain for Bangladesh's tour of Zimbabwe in August 2009 as Mortaza was still injured. In the second ODI of the five match series in Zimbabwe in August 2009, Shakib scored 104 off only 64 balls before being run-out – his third ODI century – to help his team to their highest score in ODIs and lead Bangladesh to a 2–0 lead in the series. He finished the series with 170 runs from five matches at an average of 42.50 – fifth highest run-scorer – and 6 wickets an average of 39.66, fourth highest wicket-taker in the series. Following his team's 4–1 victory in the ODI series against Zimbabwe, Shakib travelled to Australia to undergo medical treatment for acute groin pain. He had been experiencing pain since the end of the West Indies tour, but he had decided to play through the pain and lead Bangladesh in Zimbabwe. Although he did not win, Shakib was nominated Cricketer of the Year and Test Player of the Year in the 2009 ICC Awards; he was the only Bangladesh player to be nominated in either category that year.