Bangladesh cricket officials have said former captain Shakib Al Hasan could be considered for a return to the national team, reopening the possibility less than a year after his retirement from international cricket.Shakib, who was also a lawmaker from the former ruling party that was removed in a 2024 uprising, had become a focus of public anger because of his association with ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina. He was among several people named in murder cases linked to a police crackdown on protesters. In 2024, Shakib announced his retirement but said last month that he was open to reversing that decision.Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) senior official Amzad Hossain said the board had taken a collective view on the matter.“The board has taken a unanimous decision that if Shakib Al Hasan’s availability, fitness and accessibility allow it — and if he can be present at the venue where matches are played — then the board and the selection panel will consider him for the national team,” Hossain told reporters late Saturday.He said the BCB would also allow Shakib to play in overseas leagues if he wished.“If he wants to participate in other global tournaments, the board will provide him NOC as required,” Amzad added.Shakib had earlier apologised for staying silent during the student-led uprising, while also defending his decision to be part of the government that was later removed.The development comes at a time when Bangladesh cricket is dealing with the fallout of being excluded from next month’s T20 World Cup. On Saturday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) replaced Bangladesh with Scotland.The BCB had declined to send the team to India and asked for their matches to be moved to co-host Sri Lanka. The issue escalated earlier this month after the Indian cricket board asked IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders to release Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman.The ICC said there was no credible security threat to Bangladesh in India, but the BCB said the final call rested with the government.“This is a government decision taken on security grounds,” Amzad said. “Because of that, there was nothing more we could do.”Shakib was playing in a domestic T20 tournament in Canada when Hasina’s government fell and has not returned to Bangladesh since. He has represented Bangladesh in 71 Tests, 247 one-day internationals and 129 T20 internationals, taking a total of 712 wickets across formats.
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