Kanpur. Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan on Thursday announced his retirement from T20 cricket and also confirmed that he will play against South Africa in Dhaka next month. He will also retire from Test cricket after the first match against South Africa. An emotional Shakib made this announcement on Thursday in a press conference before the second Test match between India and Bangladesh.
He said, “This is the right time to bring in new players. The approach is the same for T20Is. I have spoken to the chief selector and the BCB president and we all felt it was the right time to move on and give opportunities to new players.” Shakib revealed that he has expressed his desire to bid goodbye to Test cricket in front of his home crowd in Mirpur. However, if his wish is not fulfilled, the match against India will be his last in Test cricket.
Shakib said, “I have expressed my desire to play my last Test in Mirpur, if that does not happen, then the second Test against India will be my last Test.” He further said, “Bangladesh cricket has given me a lot and I want to play my last Test match in this format at home.” However, he will continue to play in the franchise league and does not rule out the possibility of a return to the national team.
He said, “But for now, you can say that I am moving on from both the formats. If I perform well in the T20 league and BCB feels they need me in the team for a certain period of time, then we can consider. But for now, this is it.”
Shakib appeared in 129 T20I matches for Bangladesh, scoring 2,551 runs at a strike rate of 121.18. However, his impact with the ball proved more important to the team. In 126 innings, Shakib has taken 149 wickets, with his best figures being 5/20.
Interestingly, Shakib Al Hasan's Test debut was also against India. His first red-ball appearance for Bangladesh came in May 2007 in Chittagong, and since then, he has played 70 Test matches for his country. With an illustrious record to his name, Shakib has scored 4,600 runs, including five centuries and 31 half-centuries, making him the third-highest run-scorer in Bangladesh's Test history – a position that Shakib has achieved in his Test career Likely to be retained till the end of career.
On the bowling front, Shakib is Bangladesh's leading wicket-taker in Test cricket, with 242 wickets. He is the only bowler from his country to cross the 200-wicket mark in Tests, further cementing his legacy as one of Bangladesh's finest all-rounders.
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