Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan has been left disappointed by Shakib Al Hasan’s decision to skip the Test series against Sri Lanka for Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. Shakib has decided to skip the Test series to remain available for the entire season of IPL 2021 where he will be playing for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
Shakib wrote to BCB seeking leave to miss the Sri Lanka Test series at home which allow him to remain with KKR for the entire IPL season. He was roped in by the franchise for Rs 3.2 crore at the recently-conducted IPL 2021 player auction in Chennai. There were doubts regarding his availability but now the all-rounder is confirmed to play the entire season.
“When someone says I don’t want to play the next Test, and play in a franchise T20 league, it becomes very clear that we can’t do much with them. Couldn’t we have stopped Shakib from going (to the IPL)? He may have played but we don’t want that,” Hassan was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo.
“We want only those to play, who really love the game. We have tried to keep him interested. When Shakib had declined to play Tests three years ago, we made him the captain. I didn’t like the timing of it. He was among the players I expected would take charge of the difficult situation. It was disappointing
“We have lost against Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and West Indies. Especially after losing to West Indies at home, I would have imagined everyone being desperate to play the next Test series. But when someone says I don’t want to play the next Test, and play in a franchise T20 league, it becomes very clear that we can’t do much with them,” he added.
