KANPUR: Former Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan on Thursday announced that the Mirpur Test against visiting South Africa will be his last in the format if he is assured of his safety in the country and also a safe exit after the match.
The decision might have come on the eve of Bangladesh's second Test against hosts India here in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh but the foundation for it was laid ahead of the first match of the series in Chennai as soon as Shakib joined the team.The batting all-rounder bared his heart to teammates, support staff and selector Hannan Sarkar, who is travelling with the team.
Shakib, who joined the squad later, shared his thoughts with us on arrival. We spoke extensively to him on the issue and later apprised the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) of his decision," Sarkar told this daily.
The first Test in Chennai started on September 19. The visitors lost the match by 280 runs on the fourth day. Given the situation, the discussion must be on for more than a week following which Shakib made his decision public on Thursday.
Sarkar, a former Bangladesh player, held Shakib one of the finest cricketers the country has ever produced and said it must not have been easy for him to walk away from Test cricket like this. "You can understand how many times we all must have discussed this thing. For more than a week, this was the topic of discussions among us. The BCB also got involved late on. After several rounds of discussions, it was decided to respect the decision of Shakib and let him choose the way he wants to finish his Test career," Sarkar added.
Explaining the reasons given by Shakib behind his decision during discussions, Sarkar said, "He said the time is apt for him to make way for youngsters. The announcement came after an intense discussion. It was a well-thought decision and he has kept every stakeholder in the loop. Obviously, when a player of his stature makes such an announcement, a lot of talks get started but Shakib was very clear what he has to do before the Chennai Test and made a formal announcement once everyone was on the same page."
Sarkar, however, said Shakib has just decided not to play Twenty20 Internationals for some time unlike popular perception and will be available if the BCB needs him. "He will continue playing in various T20 leagues across the globe. He wanted a break from T20Is but will make himself available if the country needs him during the 2026 T20 World Cup. As far as One-Day Internationals are concerned, he wishes to continue in the format at least till the 2025 Champions Trophy. So one can safely assume that at the moment, he has decided to quit the longest format of the game,"
Sarkar, an opening batter, who played 17 Tests and 20 ODIs for his country between 2002 and 2004, also made it clear that Shakib at the moment has no plans to serve Bangladesh cricket. "Given his desire to play in the T20 leagues, he will hardly get any time to serve Bangladesh cricket. Maybe in future, he can think about that but for now, he will remain an active cricketer, albeit for various franchises."
After Bangladesh's historic win in Pakistan, Shakib flew to England to represent Surrey in the red-ball cricket even as his teammates returned to the country to prepare for the India series. He shone for his County team against Somerset claiming four and five wickets in the first and second innings respectively but could not carry forward that success in the first Test against India where he went wicketless in both essays. His contribution with the bat was also modest with him scoring 32 and 25 in the two innings.