BCB grants Shakib's leave from New Zealand tour

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) granted ace allrounder Shakib Al Hasan's leave from the upcoming New Zealand tour.

Shakib cited family reasons behind his leave from the tour of New Zealand where Bangladesh will play two-match Test series, which is the part of ICC World Test Championship.

The BCB president Nazmul Hassan Papon confirmed the news, saying that the allrounder feels that he needs a break from continuous cricket to keep him refreshed.

Shakib officially applied for the leave on Saturday, just a few hours after the BCB announced an 18-member squad for the New Zealand tour where Shakib's name was included even though he verbally told the BCB president of his decision to skip the tour. The BCB president later advised him to apply for leave.

"Shakib's case is different. He is not injured and he also had no intention to take a rest. He wanted a break because of a family emergency. Surely Shakib is our most important cricketer. There is no doubt about it," Nazmul said.

Papon said after a meeting with the board of directors at Hotel Sonargaon Monday. "Any cricketer who wants rest or leaves will get it. BCB has no objection to that. However, the players should not apply or tell us about the rest and leave at the eleventh hour," he added.

"The thing is that we want to know from them in advance. If they apply for leave just before any tour or series, it creates problem in team's balance."

The drama unfolded with Shakib's decision to opt out of the tour when the selectors included his name in the New Zealand-bound Bangladesh team.

It is believed the lack of coordination between the cricket management department and the selectors is widely exposed in this incident.