Shakib Al Hasan reverses retirement for one last series; reveals why he bowled with illegal action intentionally

New Delhi: Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has reversed his retirement from Test and T20Is and expressed his desire to play a farewell series at home before calling time on his illustrious international career. The former Bangladesh captain had announced his retirement from T20Is and Tests last year and has not played for the national team for over a year.

Shakib’s last appearance for Bangladesh came in the Test match against India in Kanpur last year. The legendary all-rounder had to announce his retirement from Test cricket abruptly last year after an FIR was registered against him in an alleged murder case in August 2024.

Shakib was an active MP in the Awami League government, which was dethroned in August last year. The former Bangladesh captain has not returned to his country since May last year, however, he went on to play a Test series in India and Pakistan despite the FIR against him.

On his latest appearance on the Beard Before Wicket Podcast, which features the likes of Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, Shakib revealed he wants to return to Bangladesh and play a full-fledged series before retiring. Shakib said he is not yet officially retired from all three formats, but will do so after playing a farewell series at home.

“I am officially not retired from all formats. This is the first time I’ll be revealing that. My plan is to go back to Bangladesh, play one full series of ODI, Test, and T20, and retire,” Shakib said on the Beard Before Wicket podcast.

“I mean, (I can) retire from all formats in a series. So it can start from T20I, ODI and Test, or Test, ODI, T20I. Either way, I’m fine, but I want to play a whole series and retire. That’s what I want,” he added.

When asked if he would return to Bangladesh, Shakib said he remains hopeful. “I am hopeful. That’s why I’m playing (T20 leagues). I think it will happen,” said the former Bangladesh captain.

The legendary all-rounder also made it clear that he wants to play one last series at home as a thanking gesture for his supporters, who have stood by him throughout his international career. Shakib said he will play the series without the burden of performance or results.

“I think when a player says something, they try to stick to their words. They normally don’t change it all of a sudden. It doesn’t matter if I play well or not. I might play a bad series after that, if I want to play. But I don’t need to do that. I think this is enough. It’s just a nicer way to say bye to the fans that they supported me always, give something back to them, playing a home series,” Shakib explained.

Shakib Al Hasan reveals why he bowled with illegal action ‘intentionally’

Shakib was suspended from bowling across all formats after his action was found illegal during a county match in England in December last year. The Bangladesh all-rounder was playing a 4-day match for Surrey against Somerset when his action caught the eyes of the match official and led to a ban.

His bowling suspension cost Shakib his place in the Bangladesh squad for the Champions Trophy 2025 earlier this year. Despite being active in ODIs and available as a specialist batter, Shakib was overlooked by the Bangladesh selectors. The legendary all-rounder has now revealed he bowled with the illegal action intentionally.

Shakib revealed he bowled 70 overs in the match for Somerset and bowled with illegal action due to exhaustion. However, he later worked with the club to correct his action and resumed bowling properly with his old action.

“I think I was doing it a little bit intentionally because I bowled more than 70 overs (in one match). I never bowled 70 overs in my career in a Test match. I was playing that four-day match for Surrey against Somerset in Taunton. I was so tired. I played back-to-back Test matches in Pakistan. We won that series and then I went to play those four-day matches. The only thing I was thinking the umpire could have done was just warn me first, at least. But it is in the rules, so they had the right. I didn’t complain,” said Shakib.

“I went to do the test, I failed. And then I saw my test. I was like, ‘okay, so these things are happening’. Then I had to train for a couple of weeks so I went back to Surrey again and they were kind enough to help me. I did two sessions and I was back to normal. I was like, ‘it’s so easy,’” he concluded.

Shakib is one of Bangladesh’s greatest cricketers of all time. The former Bangladesh skipper has played 71 Tests, 247 ODIs and 129 T20Is in his international career. He has 4609, 7570 and 2551 runs in the three formats, respectively. Shakib has also picked up over 700 wickets in the three formats combined.