Will Shakib ever return to the squad, what does the BCB boss say?

Will Shakib Al Hasan ever return to the national squad? The talks resurfaced following his match-winning performance for Dubai Capitals in this year’s edition of the Global Super League which earned him the man of the match award. Bangladesh Cricket Board president Aminul Islam said he would talk to Shakib in this regard.

Shakib Al Hasan hasn’t been able to return home since the fall of the Awami League government. However, he still joined the team to play in the Test match series against India last year.

Shakib Al Hasan at the time said he wanted to retire from the longest version of the game with the Test match against South Africa at home, Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

He also said at the time that he probably had played his final T20I match during the T20I World Cup in 2024, though he once said he could return to the T20I Squad if the team needed him.

Ahead of the two-match Test series against South Africa last October, he flew from the US to join the team. However, he had to return from Dubai in the UAE due to some security concerns.

In the meantime, he failed the bowling action test, which barred him from cricket for several months. He returned to cricket with the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Now Shakib Al Hasan is playing for Dubai, in the Global Super League. He marked his return to the game with a classic ‘Shakib-like’ performance taking 4 wickets just for 13 runs and scoring 58 from just 37 balls.

However, he could not carry on the form he exhibited in the first match in the next two matches scoring only 3 and 4 runs respectively with the bat. He could not register any wickets in his name in the next two games either.

Asked whether there was any chance of Shakib Al Hasan returning to the national team, BCB Media Committee chairman Iftekhar Rahman said, “Our door is always open for Shakib.”

The BCB president Aminul Islam also spoke in the same tone.

Following an event organised by the Badminton Federation on Monday, BCB president Aminul Islam Bulbul, “Shakib is available. He has not retired from all formats. I will talk to him and will make a decision after that.”

Shakib Al Hasan has been accused in several cases. He also has an arrest warrant against him in a Cheque fraud case. Aminul, however, said Shakib’s inclusion depends solely on the selectors, which he said several times before as well.

Asked whether he is in touch with Shakib, the BCB said, “We have no contact for several days. I haven’t contacted him after taking over.”