On Thursday, 26 September, Shakib Al Hasan made a statement regarding his retirement from international cricket. The Bangladesh cricket legend said that he is done with the Test and T20 formats. According to Shakib Al Hasan, his final Test match will be against South Africa in Dhaka in October.
Speaking to the media prior to the Kanpur Test match against India, he also stated that the 2024 T20 World Cup, which took place in June, was his final T20 assignment for Bangladesh, implying that his only future international appearances would be in ODIs.
Cricket South Africa has not yet granted the security clearance following site inspections earlier this week; therefore, the series against South Africa is still tentative. That follows the unrest that took place in Bangladesh in July and August, which claimed hundreds of lives.
Shakib, an MP for the Awami League, was the target of the demonstrators. Shakib has been out of the country for security reasons ever since the Awami League-led government collapsed on August 5.
This Test in Kanpur, which begins on Friday, will be his last if the South Africa series does not go; nevertheless, the South Africa Tests are expected to proceed.
Shakib clarified, meanwhile, that he didn’t make an emotional decision to end the Test and T20I careers. He claimed to have spoken about the issue recently with the selection committee headed by Gazi Ashraf Hossain and BCB president Faruque Ahmed. He said that leaving the two formats now, at the age of 37, is the appropriate decision.
Shakib is a legendary figure in Bangladesh Cricket who left a great legacy in both T20 and Test formats. He is the first cricketer in T20Is to have scored over 2,500 runs and taken 100 or more wickets. At the time of his retirement, he was the third-highest wicket-taker in T20Is.
Shakib’s Test performances have been vital to Bangladesh. He has taken 242 wickets and scored 4,600 runs in 70 Tests so far. With 240 wickets and 4,500 runs in tests, Shakib finds himself in an elite league of generational greats of cricket, Jacques Kallis, Kapil Dev, Daniel Vettori, and Ian Botham.
He was also the No. 1 allrounder in both formats for many years, and he also captained the Bangladesh team in both T20 and test for several years. Shakib may have retired from T20Is but he will continue to play in franchise T20 cricket.
