Last Updated on 3 weeks by Charbel Coorey
The Bangladesh cricket team is set to move on without their star player Shakib Al Hasan. The country’s sports advisor, Asif Mahmud, has declared that the all-rounder will not be picked for the national side again, following Shakib’s social media post on Sunday wishing former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on her birthday.
The controversy began with Shakib’s seemingly routine message. Asif quickly responded, without naming him directly, before later telling Dhaka-based Channel 24 that he would formally advise the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) against selecting Shakib. He claimed the cricketer was “intricately involved with Awami League’s politics.”
“We can’t let Shakib Al Hasan play for Bangladesh again”
“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.”
Replying to that statement, Shakib posted saying, “So someone has finally accepted that it’s because of him that I can never put on the Bangladesh jersey again, because of whom I can’t play for Bangladesh again. Maybe I will return to my motherland one day. Love you, Bangladesh.”
The 37-year-old was an Awami League member of parliament from January to August last year, before the government was toppled in a student-led revolution. Hasina fled to India on August 5, while Shakib, who was abroad at the time, has not returned to Bangladesh since.
Shakib, defending himself, said his gesture was personal. He explained that he had known Hasina before his entry into politics and that the birthday wish was not meant to provoke anyone. “Hasina was deeply involved with cricket. We had a relationship through that, even before politics. I wished her from that point of view. There was no other motive, or trying to instigate anyone” said Shakib Al Hasan.
On the cricketing front, Shakib last represented Bangladesh in Tests against Pakistan and India in 2024 but has been out of the national setup for over a year. Despite his absence from the international stage, he has remained active in franchise leagues around the world.
