Distraction Tactics? After T20 World Cup Fallout, Bangladesh Reopens Door For Shakib Al Hasan

Bangladesh Cricket Board has reopened the possibility of former captain Shakib Al Hasan returning to the national team. Star allrounder Shakib was also a lawmaker in the former ruling party, which was overthrown

in a 2024 uprising.

Due to his association with the ousted leader Sheikh Hasina, Shakib became a target of public anger and faced murder investigations related to a deadly police crackdown on protesters.

In 2024, the allrounder announced his retirement from international cricket but expressed his desire to reverse that decision last December.

Senior official of the BCB, Amzad Hossain, stated that Shakib could play again.

“The board has unanimously decided that if Shakib Al Hasan’s availability, fitness, and accessibility permit, and if he can be present at the venue where matches are played, the board and the selection panel will consider him for the national team,” Hossain told reporters late Saturday.

He also mentioned that the BCB would issue no-objection certificates (NOC) for Shakib to play in overseas leagues.

“If he wishes to participate in other global tournaments, the board will provide him the necessary NOC,” Amzad added.

Shakib previously apologized for his silence during the student-led uprising but defended his decision to serve the regime that was toppled.

Bangladesh Ousted From T20 World Cup

The announcement comes right after Bangladesh cricket team was excluded from the next month’s T20 World Cup, after the International Cricket Council (ICC) replaced them with Scotland on Saturday.

The BCB had refused to send its players to India and requested that the games be shifted to co-host Sri Lanka.

The dispute started this month when the BCCI asked Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders to release Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman. BCB then sent a letter to the ICC expressing its concerns over the safety of their players, officials and fans in India.

The ICC stated it found no credible security threat to Bangladesh in India, but the BCB said the matter was beyond their control.

“This is a government decision made on security grounds,” Amzad said. “Because of that, there was nothing more we could do.”

Shakib was participating in a domestic Twenty20 cricket competition in Canada when Hasina’s government collapsed and has not returned to Bangladesh since.

The left-arm all-rounder has played 71 Tests, 247 one-day internationals, and 129 Twenty20s for Bangladesh, taking a combined total of 712 wickets.

With AFP Inputs