Shakib Al Hasan Confirms Comeback: “I Want to Give Back to the Fans”

Former Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan has changed his mind about retiring from Tests and T20Is. He now says he wants to play in all three formats again. Shakib hasn’t played international cricket for more than a year and had earlier announced that he was done with Tests and T20Is.

"I am officially not retired from all formats. This is the first time I'll be revealing that. My plan is to go back to Bangladesh, play one full series of ODI, Test, and T20, and retire," Shakib said on Sunday.

"I mean, [I can] retire from all formats in a series. So it can start from T20I, ODI and Test, or Test, ODI, T20I. Either way, I'm fine, but I want to play a whole series and retire. That's what I want," he added.

Shakib hasn't gone back to Bangladesh since May 2024. After the Awami League government was removed from power on August 5, he stayed away. Shakib was an MP for that party. His name was also included in an FIR for an alleged murder case, even though he wasn’t in the country then. After that, he played Test matches in Pakistan and India. His last international game was the second Test against India in Kanpur.

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Shakib Al Hasan Allrounder

Shakib Al Hasan is without a doubt the biggest name to have emerged from Bangladesh cricket circles.

When asked if he will return to Bangladesh, "I am hopeful. That's why I'm playing [T20 leagues]. I think it will happen," Shakib said.

Shakib Al Hasan Reverses Retirement, Plans to Play All Formats Before Saying Goodbye

Shakib also said he won’t stress about the results. He just wants to “give something back to the fans” for supporting him over the years, especially in a home series.

"I think when a player says something, they try to stick to their words. They normally don't change it all of a sudden. It doesn't matter if I play well or not. I might play a bad series after that, if I want to play. But I don't need to do that," he said.

"I think this is enough. It's just a nicer way to say bye to the fans that they supported me always, give something back to them, playing a home series," he said.

Before the Kanpur Test in September last year, Shakib said he would no longer play T20Is. He also said he wanted to play his final Test match in the home series against South Africa in October.

Before that Test series, there were protests and clashes near the Shere Bangla Stadium in Dhaka. After staying silent for some time, Shakib later apologised for not speaking up during the student-led protests in July and August, which had caused many deaths. Because of the unrest, the BCB dropped Shakib from the South Africa Tests. The interim government could not guarantee his safe travel in and out of the country.

Earlier this year, a BCB official said Shakib could return to the national team. But in September, Bangladesh’s sports adviser Asif Mahmud said Shakib would not be allowed to play again after he wished former prime minister Sheikh Hasina on her birthday.

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