NEW DELHI: Former Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan on Thursday informed the local media that he will not be returning to his home country due to ‘a security issue’. This decision could potentially result in him missing what he has stated will be his final match representing Bangladesh.
Last month, the 37-year-old announced his retirement from international cricket but expressed his desire to play one last Test series on home soil.He was included in the Bangladesh squad that is set to face South Africa, with the first of two Tests commencing on October 21.
Shakib was expected to fly back to Dhaka on Thursday.
In addition to his cricketing career, Shakib is also a former lawmaker from the party of the autocratic ex-leader Sheikh Hasina, who was forced out of power in a student-led revolution in August and fled to India by helicopter.
Shakib is one of many individuals from Hasina’s party who are currently facing murder investigations in connection with a deadly police crackdown on protesters during the uprising.
“I was to return home… but now I don’t think I can,” Shakib told broadcaster bdnews24.com.
“It is over a security issue, a matter of my own security.”
Shakib’s announcement of his ‘final decision’ left some uncertainty about his potential return to the game.
Reports from Bangladeshi media, including the broadcaster, indicated that Shakib was currently in Dubai but had plans to travel to the United States.
During the collapse of the regime, Shakib was participating in a domestic Twenty20 cricket tournament in Canada and has not returned to Bangladesh since then.
However, he has been part of the Bangladesh team’s tours to Pakistan and India, which were approved by the interim government that was established following Hasina’s departure.
The upcoming first Test against South Africa, scheduled to take place in Mirpur near Dhaka, will mark the first international cricket match in Bangladesh since the storming of Hasina’s palace by crowds.
The second Test is set to be held in Chittagong, a port city, starting from October 29.
