BCB grants Shakib leave

Bangladesh Cricket Board has finally granted Shakib Al Hasan a leave from their upcoming two-Test series against New Zealand in January, BCB President Nazmul Hasan told the journalists on Monday.

Nazmul met some of the BCB directors at a city hotel on Monday to discuss the upcoming series against New Zealand and the Bangladesh Premier League. After the meeting, he told the reporters that Shakib will not travel to New Zealand with the team.

“His (Shakib’s) case is different. He is neither injured nor wants to rest. He wanted to take a break due to a family emergency. We have been telling you that if someone one w wants to take a break or rest, we don’t have any objection. But we have to be informed earlier. We are emphasising the issue that we need to be informed forehand. It is problematic for us if we know it just before the start of a series,” Nazmul told the reporters.

Shakib was reluctant to travel to New Zealand, but the selectors included his name in the squad for the two-Test series starting from January 1 at Mount Maunganui.

Nazmul said they knew the matter unofficially but had to complete the process officially.

“This is nothing embarrassing (the lack of coordination). Actually, we knew it unofficially. But so far, everything was happening unofficially, which created a lot of confusion. To make things transparent, everything must be dealt with in an official manner,” the BCB President said.

Earlier, Nazmul told the media that Shakib must lodge an application stating the reason for his absence during the New Zealand tour, and Shakib promptly submitted a letter asking permission to take a leave during the Test series against New Zealand.

Since his return to international cricket from his year-long ban for not disclosing conversation with a bookmaker, Shakib has appeared in only three Tests for Bangladesh whilst the national team has played seven.

Shakib’s first Test after his return was the first of the two-Test series against West Indies at home. He played the Chattogram Test and picked up a groin injury, and he did not bat in the second innings and missed the second Test of the series in Dhaka.

Bangladesh’s next Test schedule was two matches against Sri Lanka. Shakib skipped the series for taking part in the Indian Premier League.

Next was the sole Test in Zimbabwe against the hosts, then the new cycle of World Test Championship began, and Bangladesh began their journey against Pakistan at home.

Shakib, after picking up a hamstring injury during the ICC T20 World Cup, missed the Twenty20 series and the first Test of the series against Pakistan. Later, he received the medical green light for the second Test.

The all-rounder joined the team but could hardly do anything as the play has been regularly affected by rain. Out of three days, only two sessions were made possible.

Apart from Shakib, Tamim Iqbal is also a notable absentee from the New Zealand tour as the left-handed opener is also recovering from a finger injury.

Shakib has a central contract with the BCB for all formats. He is one of only five cricketers included in the contract for all three formats. The contract expires on December 2021.

Nazmul said that in the next contract, things will change.

“What we will do from January, we want the plan for an entire year so that we can know when who needs break or rest or leave. We need to be informed beforehand so that we can make the alternate cricketers ready,” said the BCB President.