Follow UsShakib Al Hasan was miffed with his cricket board, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), as they were unable to accommodate his request for one final farewell by including him in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 squad as a specialist batter only.
Since Shakib was banned from bowling, of which he is cleared now, he could have been selected only as a specialist batter.
At that time, Mohammad Salahuddin was the assistant coach of the Bangladeshi team and also Shakib's childhood coach. Shakib needed someone to counsel him as he had failed two bowling action tests back-to-back in England and India and hence wanted to chat with his childhood coach.
"Look, I don't have any complaints, but if the communication was better in that case, I would have been happier," Shakib was quoted as saying by Cricibuzz.
His comments mean that he might have already played his last game in Bangladesh colours, as he does not live in the country anymore and is not part of the central contract either.
Shakib was banned from bowling during his County Championship 2024 stint as Surrey bowler against Somerset in September 2024. After two failed attempts at reassessment, he was united with his childhood friend Sirajullah Khadem, better known as Nipu, in Bangladesh cricket circles.
They worked together and Nipu described how Shakib managed to finally clear the test in reassessment.
"The journey wasn't too difficult, nor was he under a lot of stress. He knew exactly what he had to do," said Nipu.
"I think in the first two attempts, he was in a rush. This time, however, he had the perfect preparation, and as a result, he got his reward (by passing the third test). We trained for four to five hours a day, and he bowled extensively ahead of the third test," he added.