NEWSShakib-Al-Hasan may be mulling on retiring from Test cricket to prolong his white-ball career, but former Bangladesh skipper and current national selector Habibul Bashar said they still need the star all-rounder in all the three formats.
Bangladesh created history recently beating reigning World Test Champions on their home soil at Bay Oval to bag their first-ever win in New Zealand and the win came without Shakib, who had decided to opt out of the series.
"I would love to see Shakib in all formats definitely. But the problem these days is playing in bio-bubble with so much cricket happening all around the world... These guys some times also need time out," Bashar said in a media interaction organised by the Legends League Cricket here.
The 34-year-old ace all-rounder Shakib plays all three formats for Bangladesh but recently he said it's time to "think about Test cricket" as he's seen taking frequent breaks from International cricket over the last few years.
Shakib is Bangladesh's most-successful batsman (12,523 runs across formats) in International cricket and is their leading wicket-taker in Tests (215), ODIs (277) and T20Is (117).
He's played 59 Tests, 215 ODIs and 94 T20Is since his debut in 2006.
"It's not easy for a player. They also have family. Playing three formats with these guys is a bit difficult these days. He's been more than six months away from his family. Sometimes you got to understand. But I would love to see Shakib playing all the three formats," the current national selector said.
The first Test win for Bangladesh ended the Black Caps' 17-match unbeaten run on home soil.
"The boys did a fantastic job beating NZ in NZ. Our team is going through a rebuilding process. We had a young side. New Zealand also came back very well in the second Test. But I see a good future for these boys. When the senior players join in, we will have an exciting year ahead."
Talking about Bangladesh cricket, Habibul said: "We still have a long way to go. But this win will give a big confidence going forward.
"We still need to win more matches outside Bangladesh. We are in the right process, I see a bright future ahead, and hope to win more matches. We need to win major tournaments. We still have not won any tournament, barring our final appearance in the Asia Cup. But cricket is going in the right process. We have an exciting future ahead."
Follow Us