Shakib will never be allowed to play for Bangladesh again: Sports adviser Asif Mahmud

So, has the Shakib Al Hasan chapter in Bangladesh cricket finally come to an end?

It appears fans will never again see him don the red-and-green jersey. Not because Shakib himself has announced his retirement from national duty, but because he has effectively been barred.

Youth and sports adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain confirmed that Shakib will no longer be allowed to represent Bangladesh.

He revealed the decision during a telephone interview with private television channel, Channel 24, on Monday night.

The move follows a heated two-day virtual war of words between Asif Mahmud and Shakib Al Hasan, triggered by a Facebook post from the all-rounder.

The debate has since spread widely across social media.

Against this backdrop, the sports adviser made his position unequivocally clear.

Speaking to Channel 24, he said, “He will not be permitted to carry the Bangladeshi flag. To wear the national jersey is simply not something I can allow. Previously, I refrained from stating this formally to the BCB, but now my instruction to the Board will be clear: Shakib Al Hasan will never again play for the Bangladesh team.”

Explaining the rationale behind such a drastic step, Asif Mahmud remarked, “Every time he (Shakib) wished to return to the country to play, he insisted, ‘I was forced into nomination. I am not involved in politics. I only contested the parliamentary election to work for my people.’ But the truth is he is deeply entangled with Awami League politics, and we now have the evidence.”

By “evidence”, the sports adviser was referring to a particular Facebook post by Shakib — the flashpoint of this entire controversy.

Let’s recall the backdrop. Shakib was abroad during the 5 August student-led uprising that toppled the Sheikh Hasina government last year. Since then, the newly elected MP under the boat symbol could not return to the country. His name has been tied to multiple murder cases, allegations of stock market fraud, and an ongoing Anti-Corruption Commission case.

Last Sunday at around 9:00 pm, Shakib posted a photograph on Facebook — an image of himself alongside the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina — with the caption: “Happy Birthday, Apa.”

Barely an hour later, at 10:00 pm, Asif Mahmud took to his own Facebook page, writing, “You hurled a thousand insults at me for refusing to rehabilitate someone. But I was right. End of discussion.”

Responding to this, at 11:20 pm, Shakib shot back on his page, “Well, finally someone admits that it was because of him I was denied the chance to wear Bangladesh’s jersey again, denied the chance to play for my country.”

Asif Mahmud countered with another post around 5:00 pm on Monday, “Brother, I was forced into nomination. I merely contested the election; I was never actively engaged in Awami League politics. You know who. The one whose hands are drenched in the blood of students and people cannot be permitted to carry Bangladesh’s flag. Despite the Board officials repeatedly urging him to clarify his political stance, he refused. Instead, he endorsed killers, while also being implicated in share market scams, money laundering, and financial fraud. Why should anyone be rehabilitated merely because he is a good cricketer? The law is equal for all. Face it.”

As these duelling posts lit up social media, Asif Mahmud gave Channel 24 the definitive word on Shakib’s international career: it is over.

The channel also asked Shakib Al Hasan to clarify his position on posting the photo with Sheikh Hasina and wishing her on her birthday.

Over the phone, he replied, “She (Sheikh Hasina) has always followed the game seriously, hasn’t she? She would watch, she was closely connected to cricket, deeply involved long before politics came into it. From that connection, I can wish for her. Beyond that, there is no other motive, no hint, nothing of the sort.”