Former captain Shakib Al Hasan would not play for the Bangladesh national team again, stated the youth and sports advisor of the country, Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan, on Monday.
Shakib鈥檚 last of 447 appearances for the national team came in October 2024, in the Kanpur Test against India.
鈥楬e cannot be allowed to carry the Bangladesh flag. Wearing the Bangladesh jersey is not something I can possibly approve鈥� Shakib Al Hasan will never play for Bangladesh again,鈥� Asif recently said in an interview with television channel Channel24.
Asif, accusing Shakib of being 鈥榙eeply tied鈥� to the Awami League politics, said that he would instruct the Bangladesh Cricket Board to not allow Shakib to play for the national team again.
He further said that such instructions were not given previously.
Shakib was asked for a comment regarding the issue but was yet to respond while filling this report.
Asif鈥檚 latest remarks came on the back of a series of heated and indirect Facebook posts from both sides.
Shakib recently posted a picture of him with the ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, wishing her a happy birthday.
Asif then claimed that he was right all along to not rehabilitate Shakib, while the latter then countered that it was Asif who had prevented him from wearing the national jersey again.
Shakib, who was an MP for the now fallen Awami Government, expressed his wish to bid farewell to Test cricket in a home series against South Africa.
But despite being named in the squad, Shakib was not able to return to Bangladesh.
