Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has been away from the national team for nearly two years, but he says he is still trying to find a way back for one last spell in international cricket.
Shakib, one of Bangladesh’s biggest cricket stars, has also been involved in politics. Since the resignation and political exile of Sheikh Hasina to India in 2024, he has not returned to Bangladesh. As a member of the Awami League, he now hopes to wear the national jersey again before retiring.
In an interview with Sportstar, Shakib spoke about recent decisions involving Bangladesh cricket, especially the controversy around Mustafizur Rahman’s IPL situation and Bangladesh’s decision to withdraw from the T20 World Cup.
He said the interim government and cricket board did not handle things well, and that players ended up suffering because of it.
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“In the end, it was the players who suffered — and that’s simply not acceptable. It was a very poor decision by the interim government. At the same time, the Bangladesh Cricket Board also went along with it. There wasn’t enough effort to push back or convince the authorities that the team should participate in the tournament regardless. Instead, multiple conditions were put in place. And let’s be honest, you can’t really find solutions when you start with too many conditions,” said Shakib to Sportstar.
Talking about Mustafizur Rahman’s IPL issue, he felt the matter could have been handled in a better way through quiet discussions between the Bangladesh Cricket Board and the IPL franchise.
“Look, the Indian Premier League is a domestic tournament run by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, and ultimately, it’s their call on who they pick or leave out. That said, I do feel the Mustafizur Rahman situation could have been handled much better, ideally through back-channel discussions involving the BCB and the franchise,” he added.
Shakib also said that the situation should not have damaged relations between the Bangladesh Cricket Board and the BCCI.
“But even then, one incident shouldn’t derail everything. If there were issues between the BCB and the BCCI, they should have been resolved internally — not by escalating matters to the point of straining ties with the International Cricket Council (ICC). That, in my view, was a serious misstep,” he said.
He further added that emotions and public pressure played a big role in the decision-making process, which he feels was a mistake.
“It wasn’t the right approach. I felt that those in power capitalised on public sentiment, amplified it, and ended up making a decision that wasn’t in the best interest of the game. It was a clear blunder,” said Shakib.