All-rounder Shakib al Hasan, who was mentioned in a First Information Report (FIR) in a murder case during the unrest in Bangladesh, will continue to play cricket and represent his country until he is found guilty, the Bangladesh Cricket Board announced on Tuesday, August 27.
Following the first Test match against Pakistan in Rawalpindi, the BCB leadership had earlier said they would make a decision regarding Shakib’s future. In response to the allegation, Supreme Court attorney Shajib Mahmood Alam submitted a legal notice to the BCB on behalf of Advocate Md Rafinur Rahman on Saturday via email and registered mail, requesting that Shakib be immediately removed from all “forms” of cricket.
As per the International Cricket Council regulations, Shakib is not allowed to continue playing for his country’s cricket team because he has been mentioned in a case, according to the notice that was obtained.
Shakib’s prompt return to Bangladesh is also requested in the notification in order to facilitate the investigation’s rapid advancement. It further requests that the ICC be informed of this development.
“He [Shakib] will continue playing. We received a legal notice regarding bringing him back and we replied them saying this [that he will continue to play],” BCB president Faruque Ahmed was quoted in a leading Bengali Daily Prothom Alo on Tuesday.
“Right now the FIR is filed and it is in the initial stage and there are a lot of steps after this and until he is proven guilty we will make him play. The Bangladesh team will go to India after the Pakistan series and we want him in that series as well. “He is our contracted player and if necessary we will give him legal assistance,” he added.
Shakib, meanwhile, has an England four-day match scheduled after the Test series against Pakistan, so he won’t be going home with the Bangladesh team. He has been given the required No Objection Certificate (NOC) by BCB to play for Surrey against Somerset in the County match from September 5 to September 14.
“He [Shakib] has not played red-ball cricket for a while and that is why we have given him an NOC to play for Surrey as it will help him to adjust with red-ball cricket more than anything else,” a BCB official confirmed.
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