Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has revealed his side of the story about the recent controversy related to him choosing the Indian Premier League over his national duties. Shakib Al Hasan stated that the whole story has been misinterpreted by the Bangladesh Cricket board.
It was earlier reported, that Hasan has chosen the cash-rich Indian Premier League over the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. However, the former Bangladeshi skipper has now claimed that the BCB cricket operation chairman Akram Khan has misled the media about the whole scenario.
Shakib Al Hasan bold statements about BCB
“Continuously people are talking about this Test (skipping the series against Sri Lanka). The people who are saying that I will no longer play the Test or don’t want to play the Test haven’t read my letter properly and that is it,” Shakib was quoted as saying in a live show on the Cricfrenzy platform on Saturday.
“I did not mention anywhere in my letter that I do not want to play Tests. I mentioned in my letter that I want to play in the IPL to prepare myself properly for World Cup (T20 World Cup) but despite that Akram Bhai (BCB cricket operation chairman) has repeatedly said that I do not want to play Tests,” he said.
“Maybe he also said this in an interview yesterday. I guess he didn’t really read my letter properly. And whatever decisions they have taken, I believe that they have taken it after discussing among themselves,” he said, adding that he is thankful to BCB president Nazmul Hasan for backing his decision and granting him permission to play the IPL.
“I want to thank Papon Bhai (Nazmul Hasan) as I believe he has made the right decision, and I think that a player should have the liberty. I believe the cricketer’s confidence increases if the board or BCB president backs up a player like this. And when a player represents the national team, the responsibility to do something good for the team also increases. We have to thank Papon Bhai for making the right decision from his place. However, Akram Bhai repeatedly said that I do not want to play Tests, which I have not mentioned anywhere in my letter,” he said.
“Even if there were an ODI series at this time, I would have done the same,” he said. “During the IPL season, I wanted time so that I can prepare myself better. The ground where I will play IPL now will be the ground where I will play the World Cup match after four months. The players with whom I will play the IPL will be the players against whom I will play in the World Cup. For this reason, I will get more advantages than anyone else from Bangladesh, and it will also help me to share my experiences with the team that I will gain by playing in the IPL,” he said.
