Bangladesh’s sports advisor Asif Mahmud has announced that star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan will never play for the national team again.
Shakib, who served as a member of parliament for the Awami League from January to August last year before being ousted in a student-led revolution, has not featured for Bangladesh in the past 12 months. However, he has remained active in franchise leagues abroad while living in the USA.
The latest development came after Shakib posted a birthday message on social media for former prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday. Shortly after, Asif took to Facebook, writing: “All of you have abused me a lot for not rehabilitating one person. But I was right. End of the discussion.”
The post sparked a sharp response from Shakib, who wrote: “So someone has finally accepted that it’s because of him that I can never put on the Bangladesh jersey again. Maybe I will return to my motherland one day. Love you, Bangladesh.”
Later, speaking to Dhaka-based Channel 24, Asif confirmed he would instruct the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) not to select Shakib again, citing his political involvement with the Awami League. “We cannot let him carry the Bangladesh flag. It won’t be possible for me to allow him to wear the Bangladesh jersey,” Asif said.
He added that despite Shakib’s claims of being forced into politics, his ties with the Awami League were “intricate” and incompatible with representing the national side.
In response, Shakib insisted that his birthday message for Hasina was purely personal and not politically motivated. “She has always followed cricket seriously. We had a relationship through cricket even before politics. I wished her from that point of view. There was no other motive,” he clarified.
Shakib last represented Bangladesh in Tests against Pakistan and India in 2024. While his absence from international cricket was previously informal, this marks the first official confirmation from a government authority that he is barred from returning.
