The all-rounder has not played international cricket for over a year now.
They say – it isn’t over until its over! Well, for some cricketers out there, it can still be revived a long time after its over. Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has declared that he has not officially retired from any format of the game, and still wishes to play a complete bilateral series before parting ways with the game officially. The announcement by the all-rounder is doing the rounds on social media.
Shakib Al Hasan expressed his decision to come out of retirement from the Test and T20I format on a podcast with Moeen Ali recently. He stated his intentions to play a full-fledged bilateral series in front of his fans at home before taking retirement from the game. Having said that, the 38-year-old all-rounder hasn’t played the game at the international level since over a year.
Controversies have been a humongous part of Shakib Al Hasan’s cricketing career recently, after he was the centre of all discussions for an alleged murder case, during which he was not in Bangladesh. However, the Bangladesh stalwart then went on to play the Test series against Pakistan before touring India. The Test match against India in Kanpur last year was his last international game.
The country’s sports minister had announced that they would not let Shakib don the Bangladesh jersey again, after he wished Sheikh Hasina on the eve of her birthday. All that being in the past, a Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) official stated earlier this year that Shakib Al Hasan was free to return to the cricket team once again. And that is exactly what the all-rounder is eyeing.
“I am officially not retired from all formats. My plan is to go back to Bangladesh, play one full series of ODI, Test, and T20, and retire. I want to play a whole series and retire. That’s what I want”, stated Shakib Al Hasan in the episode with Moeen Ali.
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It would take a lot for the Bangladesh side to fit Shakib in the scheme of things all over again. Having said that, the 38-year-old all-rounder would walk into the XI for the Bangladesh side, considering his performances in the past. The management will have to work around the combination of the side, if at all the return takes shape for Shakib Al Hasan.
The former skipper has been a stalwart for the Tigers in every format of the game, with multiple performances with both bat and ball. One of the major strengths for Shakib remains to be his ability with to balance his skillsets and add value on both fronts. He scalped 246 wickets in just 71 Test matches, and also scored more than 4,6000 runs in the format. His contributions in the ODI and T20I formats have also been instrumental.
Speaking about his possible return to Bangladesh for a full bilateral series, Shakib Al Hasan mentioned that the results were the last thing on his mind. The 38-year-old star would be more concerned about giving back to the fans who have flocked the stadiums in his support over the last two decades. Moreover, he also expressed that he would call time on his career after playing just one bilateral series at home.
“I think this is enough. It’s just a nicer way to say bye to the fans that they supported me always, give something back to them, playing a home series”, said the all-rounder.
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