Shakib Al Hasan To Be Banned From Bangladesh Cricket Over Social Media Post | Cricket News

Bangladesh sports advisor Asif Mahmud has declared that he will never ‘allow’ former men’s cricket captain Shakib Al Hasan to play for the country again. He said that until Tuesday, he had not given a formal directive to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), but now he will.

The strong remarks come after Shakib’s social media post wishing former prime minister Sheikh Hasina on her birthday. Mahmud has used the opportunity to say Shakib was “intricately involved with Awami League’s politics”, with the Hasina-led party being ousted and forced to flee the country by a public-led movement earlier this year.

“We cannot let him carry the Bangladesh flag,” Mahmud told Dhaka-based Channel 24, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. “It won’t be possible for me to allow him to wear the Bangladesh jersey. Maybe I haven’t told the BCB before, but now my clear direction for the BCB would be that Shakib Al Hasan can never again play for Bangladesh,” he added.

Mahmud said off-camera, Shakib had been requested to be allowed to play for the country.

“The number of times he has asked to enter the country, to play for Bangladesh, he had said that the Awami League had given him the [2024 general election] nomination forcibly. He claimed that he was not involved in politics. He wanted to become an MP to work for the people of his area [Magura]. The truth, however, is that he is intricately involved in the Awami League’s politics.”

Shakib has pleaded innocence over the birthday wish, saying: “She [Hasina] has always followed cricket seriously – isn’t that right,” he said. “She was deeply involved with cricket. We had a relationship through that, even before politics. I wished her from that point of view. There was no other motive, or trying to instigate anyone.”

Additionally, he also took it to social media to criticise Mahmud.

“So someone has finally accepted that it’s because of him that I can never put on the Bangladesh jersey again, because of whom I can’t play for Bangladesh again. Maybe I will return to my motherland one day. Love you, Bangladesh,” he said.