Last Updated on 9 hours by Charbel Coorey
Shakib Al Hasan has clarified that he has not retired from any format. The Bangladesh all-rounder still has aspirations of playing his final match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.
Shakib has enjoyed plenty of success on this ground. In Tests, he has the second-most runs (1,583 at 43.97) and second-most wickets (76 at 30.05). It is a similar story in ODIs as the all-rounder has the third-most runs (2,656 at 37.40) and most wickets (131 at 24.19). In T20Is, the left-hander has the second-most runs (547 at 18.23) and second-most wickets (45 at 18.28).
I haven’t retired from any format – Shakib Al Hasan
Before the Kanpur Test against India in 2024, Shakib hinted at a Test and T20I retirement. He said he had already played his final T20I for Bangladesh and wished to retire from Tests following the Mirpur Test against South Africa a year ago.
However, he had to make himself unavailable for the match due to political protests against him in Dhaka. Also, in August of 2024, he was among the 147 named in the first information report (FIR) for an alleged murder during Bangladesh unrest.
“To be honest, I am not retired from any format officially,” Shakib told Cricbuzz. “I think it’s more for them than it’s for me (playing in Mirpur one final time). If that happens, that’s the best thing that can happen to my fans and to me.”
Earlier this year, Bangladesh’s sports advisor Asif Mahmud said the all-rounder can’t play for Bangladesh again following Shakib’s social media post on Sunday wishing former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina a happy birthday.
“We cannot let him carry the Bangladesh flag,” Asif said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. “It won’t be possible for me to allow him to wear the Bangladesh jersey. Maybe I haven’t told the BCB before, but now my clear direction for the BCB would be that Shakib Al Hasan can never again play for Bangladesh.
“The number of times he has asked to enter the country, to play for Bangladesh, he had said that the Awami League had given him the 2024 general election nomination forcibly. He claimed that he was not involved in politics. He wanted to become an MP to work for the people of his area Magura. The truth, however, is that he is intricately involved in Awami League’s politics.”
Despite these statements, Shakib still has hopes of a final international match in Dhaka. Whether the 38-year-old will get that opportunity remains to be seen.
