The President of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), Faruque Ahmed believes that veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan can still play for the men’s national team. Earlier this year Shakib announced his retirement from both Tests and T20Is, but had hoped to play his final Test on home soil.
However, security concerns meant that neither was he able to do that nor was he able to feature in the ODI series against Afghanistan. The all-rounder hasn’t been named in the squad for ODI series against West Indies. Despite this, the BCB chief still wants Shakib to feature for the senior men’s team.
“As for Shakib Al Hasan, I cannot provide a definitive answer. I want him to play, but his absence is not related to the cricket board,” Faruque was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
“The reasons preventing his participation involve law enforcement and the court. It’s not easy for me to address this. If the issue is resolved, I still believe Shakib has the ability to play for the national team,” Faruque added.
“However, playing in franchise leagues abroad and playing for the national team are not the same. The national team requires a certain combination, and Shakib doesn’t seem to be in the mental state to contribute at that level right now. We’ve left this decision to him,” Faruque further added.
The BCB President talked about the upcoming season of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and also revealed that there are thoughts to launch a women’s version of the league.
“The idea of a Women’s BPL is fantastic. I believe we have given proper importance to women’s cricket and will try to increase facilities for them. We need to evaluate our capacity for hosting the Women’s BPL. Our effort will be there, and we’ll see what happens,” Faruque said.
“Simultaneously, we aim to strengthen the Men’s BPL further. Although this is the first BPL during my tenure on the board, it’s also the last of this cycle. If I remain in the next term, or whoever does, I hope the major franchises will stay for the long term. Having two or three new franchises every year is not ideal,” Faruque added.
“Our first challenge was to ensure the BPL could take place with seven teams despite several obstacles, including the economic situation and teams withdrawing. Now, it’s time for better screening and adjustments,” Faruque concluded.
