Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan announced his T20I retirement on Thursday, ahead of his team’s second Test against India at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur.
The veteran cricketer has appeared in every edition of the T20 World Cup since 2007 and ended the 2024 edition as the tournament’s all-time highest wicket-taker with 50 scalps. Speaking to reporters ahead of the second Test, Shakib also laid out his plans for the Test and ODI formats.
The 37-year-old Shakib has not travelled to Bangladesh since the political upheaval of the Sheikh Hasina regime in August. Shakib, a member of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League Party, was called out by members of the opposition and new dispensation for being absent and mum during the momentous days. Simultaneously, Shakib was also named among 147 people charged for a murder case in Dhaka last month.
The all-rounder has confirmed that he hopes to play his final Test for Bangladesh in Mirpur during the South Africa series. According to the Future Tours Program, the two-match series is slated to begin in Mirpur on October 21.
“I have expressed my desire to play my last Test in Mirpur to BCB. I have told this to BCB, they agreed with me. They are trying to organise everything so that I can go to Bangladesh.
However, if security concerns impede the move, Shakib affirmed that the upcoming Test against India in Kanpur would be his final assignment in whites.
“If that won’t happen, the match against India in Kanpur would be my last in Test cricket,” Shakib confirmed.
