Shakib Al Hasan's life at risk? BCB President washes hands off his safety

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Faruque Ahmed has made a blunt statement, saying that the board cannot guarantee Shakib Al Hasan the security when he returns to Bangladesh because it is not in their hands.

Shakib Al Hasan earlier in the day confirmed his retirement from Test and T20I cricket. He said that he had already played his last T20I during the T20 World Cup 2024 and will play his last Test in Dhaka against South Africa in October if he gets a chance.

However, Shakib Al Hasan has made it clear that if he does not get the opportunity to play the Test match against South Africa at home, then the second Test against India at the Green Park in Kanpur would be his last for the nation.

Shakib Al Hasan, while talking to reporters, said that he is concerned about his security. Hence, he needs assurance from the board that after he plays the match against South Africa, he will be allowed to leave the country.

However, BCB President Faruque Ahmed has denied taking any responsibility for Shakib Al Hasan's security. After a four-hour-long board meeting at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Faruque Ahmed said that the Bangladesh government will have to provide security to the star all-rounder as BCB can't do anything.

"We don't have it (Shakib's security) in our hands. The security needs to come from the government and he will have to take his own decision. We cannot say anything about his security. We don't have the ability to provide security to any individual," Faruque told reporters, as quoted by Cricbuzz.

"I am neither an agency nor police or the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)" - Faruque Ahmed on providing security to Shakib Al Hasan

Faruque Ahmed further said that they would be delighted to see Shakib Al Hasan play his final Test match at home, but the higher authorities need to provide him with security. He also said that the BCB can't arrange any exit plans for the all-rounder to leave the country without the permission from government.

"I am neither an agency nor police or the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). The security issue needs to be cleared by the government because from the board we cannot say anything."

"Shakib is going through a tough time personally so we cannot say much from our side. Like him, even I think if he can play his last Test from here, there cannot be anything better than that, but his security issues need to be assured by the higher authorities.

"He is going through a tough time. He felt this is the right time for him to play his last Test and we have showed respect to his decision."

The reason behind Shakib Al Hasan facing all this trouble is that he was a member of parliament of the Awami League-led government that fell, and he was also named in a murder case related to the protests.

Talking about Shakib's international career, he is unarguably the greatest cricketer to have come out of Bangladesh. He has so far played 70 Tests, 247 ODIs, and 129 T20Is for the Bangladesh National Cricket Team, scoring 4600, 7570, and 2551 runs and picking 242, 317 and 149 wickets, respectively.