BCB President slams Shakib Al Hasan's for his poor attitude

BCB president Nazmul Hassan responds to Shakib Al Hassan after the all-rounder was deemed unavailable for the tour of South Africa next week.

The BCB official questioned Shakib's commitment to the national team, asking whether he would want a similar break from the IPL if he had been picked.

"I think it is logical to think that if he were in a poor physical and mental state, he wouldn't have given his name in the IPL [auction]," Hassan said. 

Despite claiming to be in a poor physical and mental state, Shakib gave his name for the IPL auction but was not picked by any of the franchises. 

"We can't do anything if he doesn't want to play [for Bangladesh]. But he can't keep saying. I will play this game. I won't play that game. We are soft on those we love, but they also have to be professional. Otherwise, we will have to make decisions that no one will like." added the BCB president. 

Shakib cleared his intention to the BCB that he only wants to play the limited over formats for most of 2022. He made himself available for IPL on the same dates Bangladesh were scheduled to tour South Africa in March-April. But after no franchise picked him, the BCB was hopeful that he would be available for the upcoming South Africa tour.

After the last ODI against Afghanistan last week, Hassan claimed that Shakib consented to tour South Africa for ODI and Tests. He was part of both squads but on Sunday. He backed out, asking for a break. The allrounder asked BCB if he could pull out of the ODI series so that he could be fresh mentally and physically for the Test series in the same tour.

The BCB President said that it had been made clear to the players to notify the board if they plan to skip a particular format in advance. Tamim Iqbal made himself unavailable for last year's ICC T20 World Cup and will not participate in this year's edition either. Another player, Mahmudullah retired from Test format. 

"I have been clear with everyone that they must inform us beforehand if they don't want to play a particular format," Hassan said. "But they shouldn't do all this. It is not desirable."

The BCB President was not pleased with the player's sudden change of mind and not keeping BCB in the loop of their plans.

In the past five years, Shakib was part of only 15 of the 33 Tests Bangladesh have played. During this time, he served a one-year suspension due to not reporting a corrupt approach, injuries and personal leave.