Shakib explains his decision to prioritise IPL over national duty

Bangladesh superstar Shakib Al Hasan gave an explanation about his decision to skip Bangladesh’s Sri Lanka tour for a two-match Test series and prioritise the new season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), reports UNB.

In a live interview session with the Cricfrenzy, the star all-rounder said he opted to play IPL so that he can prepare himself better for the T20 World Cup which is slated to be played in India later this year, and at the same time, he claimed that the Bangladesh Cricket Board(BCB) has misled people about his decision.

“The people who are saying that I do not want to play Test cricket haven’t gone through my letter properly,” Shakib said in the live session and claimed that he has no intention to avoid Test cricket.

Ahead of the ongoing New Zealand tour, Shakib asked BCB for leave so that he can stay with his wife who was expecting a child. Along with this, Shakib has also asked to avoid Bangladesh’s Sri Lanka tour to play in the IPL. Both the events are likely to take place around the same time.

“I did not mention anywhere in my letter that I am reluctant to play Tests. I rather mentioned that I want to play IPL so that I can prepare myself better for the World Cup. But Akram bhai (BCB's cricket operations chief) repeatedly said that I took this decision to avoid Test cricket,” Shakib added.

Shakib thanked BCB president Nazmul Hassan for allowing him to play IPL, and Shakib also said it was a wise decision and it was given after a discussion among the board directors.

“Every player should have the freedom to make the decision about their playing priorities,” Shakib also said. “It’s not about Test cricket only. Had I needed to play ODIs around the same time when the Sri Lanka Tests are scheduled, I would have opted to skip that as well so that I can prepare better for the World Cup playing in IPL.”

Shakib is currently in the USA, living with his family. The star all-rounder returned to competitive cricket after serving a one-year ban imposed by the BCB due to failing to report corrupt approaches. He also played the ODI series against West Indies earlier this year at the home and emerged as the man of the series after some lean display in the Bangabandhu T20 Cup later last year, which was his first cricketing event after the ban ended.

Shakib is all set to play this year’s IPL for his old franchise Kolkata Knight Riders. He was in Kolkata’s squad when this team won two titles of IPL in 2012 and 2014. Shakib is one of the best all-rounders in IPL’s history with 746 runs and 59 wickets under his belt.