Bangladesh Cricket Board president Faruque Ahmed said that star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is unlikely to take part in the forthcoming one-day international series against Afghanistan due to insufficient training and his current mental state.
The three-match series is scheduled to be played in the UAE from November 6 to 11.聽
Though the BCB boss stated a day earlier in Dhaka that Shakib was available for the series, he all but confirmed that the all-rounder would not participate during a press conference at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on Thursday.
鈥楳aybe he鈥檚 not in the practice. He needs some time. I鈥檓 not saying that he will definitely not play in the series, but the probability is high of him not playing. It will depend on his mental state,鈥� said Faruque.
Shakib, who announced his retirement plan during Bangladesh鈥檚 tour to India in September, was supposed to play his farewell Test against South Africa at Mirpur.
But as the protest broke out against his participation, who was a former MP of the Awami League and has an alleged murder case filed against him related to an incident during the July movement, the interim government advised the player not to come to the country.聽
Faruque also mentioned that it was basically up to Shakib whether he would play or not in the Afghanistan series, but the BCB president thought that he could miss the series as he has yet to recover emotionally after failing to play his desired farewell Test at home.聽
鈥業 think Shakib didn鈥檛 practice after he could not play in that Test [Mirpur Test] after trying. He needs some time,鈥� said Faruque.
鈥楬e鈥檚 a professional, so he might have thought that it would be wise to skip the series [against Afghanistan] for the betterment of him and the country. He will try to regroup鈥�, he added.聽
Shakib is supposed to play in the Abu Dhabi T10 league, which starts on November 21. Faruque said that he can still be playing in ODIs for Bangladesh.聽
The BCB boss also mentioned that Najmul Hossain Shanto initially wanted to quit the T20 captaincy after the India series.
Though Faruque did not discuss the matter with Shanto while filing this report, the BCB president mentioned all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz and pacer Taskin Ahmed as the two most likely contenders for captaincy if Shanto did not continue.
