The Bangladesh All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has announced his T20I retirement and further hinted that the Kanpur test against India could be his final red-ball match.
The announcement came during a press conference ahead of the second test of the Bangladesh tour of India 2024. Shakib stated that he has a desire to bid farewell to his test career in front of his home crowd in Mirpur.
He further added that if the wish isn’t fulfilled then the second test against India will be his final outing.
The test series against South Africa remains doubtful as CSA is yet to give security clearance following the inspections of the venue earlier this week.
“I am available for the South Africa series but since there’s a lot happening back home, naturally not everything depends on me. I have discussed my plans about Test cricket with the BCB. Especially this series and the home series. I was thinking that it could be my last Test series,” Shakib Al Hasan said in Kanpur.
“I have told [BCB president] Faruque bhai and the selectors. If there’s a chance and if I can play, my last Test will be in Mirpur. The board is trying to ensure that I can play and feel safe, at the same time that I can leave the country without a hitch.”
Shakib Al Hasan has a notable contribution in test cricket playing 70 matches and scoring 4600 runs with an average of 38.33 including five hundreds and 31 fifties.
Apart from the contributions with the bat, he had also picked 242 wickets, including 19 five-wicket hauls and two 10-wicket hauls. He remains the only bowler from the country to surpass the 200-wicket mark in tests.
The 37-year-old had earlier hinted that he had played his last T20I for Bangladesh during the T20 World Cup during the Super 8 match against Afghanistan.
“I think I have played my last T20 match,” announcing his retirement in a short format. He has featured in 129 T20I matches for Bangladesh amassing 2551 runs at a strike rate of 121.18. He also claimed 140 wickets with his best figures of 5/20.
