BCB
Has Shakib learned from his mistakes?
Shakib Al Hasan returned to competitive cricket last November after serving a one-year ban for breaching the ICC's anti-corruption code. Shakib hasn't been able to play at his best since returning to the field. He has shown some flair with the ball but has struggled with the bat. Shakib is yet to fully express himself for Mohammedan in the ongoing DPL T20. Perhaps he vented his anger against arch-rival Abahani on Friday (June 11). Shakib's inappropriate behaviour has shocked the cricket world despite the fact that his team Mohammedan won the match. So the question remains, has Shakib learned from his mistakes?
Reviewing Shakib's controversial past
Shakib has been involved in controversies on and off the field on multiple occasions apart from Friday's match against Abahani and the one-year ban by ICC. Some of them are discussed here.
Shakib was banned for three matches and fined Tk 3 lakhs following an obscene gesture on live television during the second match of the bilateral ODI series between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in 2014.
Read DPL: Shakib loses cool; kicks stumps, throws them away
The BCB suspended Shakib for six months from all forms of cricket after misbehaving with newly appointed head coach Chandika Hathurusingha during the first ODI against India in 2015 and clashing with a supporter in the gallery.
Shakib misbehaved with the umpire during a BPL match in 2017 because he was unhappy with the umpire's decision. He was penalized 50% of the match fee for breaking the BCB's code of conduct.
During the 2018 West Indies tour, Shakib was criticized for arguing with a Bangladesh cricket fan in the hotel lobby which later went viral on social media, particularly Facebook.
Besides, Shakib often makes news by making a number of inflammatory statements against BCB and its officials. He recently went live and attacked BCB director Akram Khan, and the entire country was talking about it for days.
Read Shakib apologizes for kicking stumps in Bangladesh cricket
The reason why Shakib Al Hasan is being criticized once again
After losing two consecutive league stage matches in the DPL T20 2021, the under-pressure Mohammedan Sporting Club captain Shakib Al Hasan came to the field on Friday at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur determined to snatch victory against arch-rival Abahani Limited.
Mohammedan batted first and made 145-6 in 20 overs. In the chase, Abahani lost 3 wickets for 9 runs in just three overs. So it was essential for Abahani skipper Mushfiqur Rahim to stay at the crease in order to reach the target.
In such circumstances, Mushfiqur failed to play Shakib's straight delivery at the last ball of the innings' fifth over, and the ball struck his front pad directly. When Shakib appealed for Ibw, the umpire did not give his decision in favour of Mohammedan. Subsequently, Shakib became infuriated and kicked the stumps at the bowler's end, yelling at the umpire.
Read Bio-bubble breach: Shakib gets away from punishment
When the rain began to fall during the very next over, the umpire decided not to continue the game. Shakib became enraged, uprooted the three stumps threw down on the field while making a rude gesture towards the umpire. He also ran towards Abahani manager and BCB director Khaled Mahmood on his way back to the dressing room. Later the situation became normal in mediation with the players of both clubs.
Mohammedan Sporting Club eventually won the match by 31 runs in the D/L method when the game was resumed.
After the match, Shakib went to Abahani's dressing room to settle the matter, and he apologized to everyone on his verified Facebook page. However, it is apparent after the latest incident that he hasn't learned from his past mistakes.
Read Shakib Al Hasan vs Mustafizur Rahman: Who is the most successful player in IPL?
The quality of Bangladesh's domestic cricket competitions has also been questioned. Many are unhappy with umpires' performance, and there are even allegations of match-fixing. The BCB must take decisive action to improve the transparency and competitiveness of domestic cricket leagues. Having said so, the protest from Shakib Al Hasan who has been playing international cricket for 15 years cannot be acceptable by any standard.
Shakib Al Hasan is a role model for many young cricketers throughout the world. If an idol cricketer treats an umpire in that manner, future generations of cricketers would certainly learn nothing from him. It is to be seen how the BCB responds to Shakib’s wrongdoing.
Read Shakib apologises after thrashing and kicking stumps
Bottom Line
The poster boy of Bangladesh cricket, Shakib Al Hasan isn't immune to controversy. He has been punished by the Bangladesh Cricket Board several times. When Shakib makes a mistake, he apologizes instantly and promises everyone that he will not repeat it. Though after a few days, he gets involved in a new controversy and disappoints everyone. As a result, it's clear that Shakib hasn't learned from his mistakes and doesn't feel obliged to change.
Shahadat returns to competitive cricket as BCB accepts his appeal
Bangladesh right-arm pacer Shahadat Hossain made a comeback to competitive cricket after serving a ban of 18 months.
On Saturday, Shahadat played for Partex Sporting Club and bowled two overs but failed to scalp any wicket.
He was originally banned for five years, with two years suspension, in November 2019 for slapping a teammate during a National Cricket League Game in Khulna. He was also fined BDT 100,000.
In March this year, Shahadat submit an appeal to BCB to reduce his punishment and allow him to play domestic cricket so that he can help his family and his ailing mother.
Akram Khan, the cricket operation chairman of BCB, told the media in March that the board is considering allowing him to resume his career.
“His mother is diagnosed with cancer, and he has more problems in his family. We have forwarded his appeal to the disciplinary committee of the board. I think he will be eligible to resume his career soon,” Akram had told the media in March this year.
Shahadat got his international caps in 2005-2006. He represented Bangladesh in 38 Tests, 51 ODIs and 6 T20Is. He enjoyed more success in Tests cricket where he bagged 72 wickets with four five-wicket hauls. In ODIs, he bagged 47 wickets with a hattrick and in T20Is, he has six scalps under his belt.
Shahadat, a 34-year-old right-arm pacer, had played his last international game in 2015 against Pakistan in Dhaka.
PM greets cricketers for winning 1st match against Sri Lanka
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday congratulated the national cricket team on winning the first match in the three-match ODI home series against Sri Lanka by 33 runs.
Also read: Tigers beat Lions despite Hasaranga scare
In a message, the Prime Minister greeted all the players, the coach and the officials of the national cricket team as well as the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) officials concerned for beating Sri Lanka in the match.
Alesha Mart becomes BCB's title sponsor till 2023
Alesha Mart, a sister concern of Alesha Holdings, has been named as the title sponsor of the Bangladesh cricket team's home series till 2023, including the Bangladesh-Sri Lanka three-match ODI series, which will start on Sunday.
Apart from Alesha, the Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) home series will also be powered by Walton while Impress Matra Consortium has got the title and in stadia, ground branding rights till 2023.
Impress initially bought the sponsorship rights of the home series from the BCB for Tk33.55 crore while the floor price was set at Tk26 crore.
Later, Alesha Mart and Walton bought the sponsorship rights from Impress.
Bangladesh are scheduled to play nine home series including seven Tests, 18 ODIs and 19 T20s till 2023.
The BCB announced the name of the sponsors at a press conference at the Sher e Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur Saturday.
BCB Chief Executive Nizam Uddin Chowdhury, Alesha Mart Executive Director Nahid Jahan and Walton Group Executive Director Uday Hakim were present at the conference.
Bangladesh-Sri Lanka ODI series: Tigers to play intrasquad game Thursday
Bangladesh national cricket team will play an intrasquad game Friday in Savar's BKSP – the only practice game to be played by the hosts ahead of the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka which starts on May 23 in Dhaka.
The visitors will also play a practice game at the same venue on Friday.
Bangladesh started preparing for this series on May 18. However, most parts of the first-day practice session got interrupted by the rain. However, the Tigers had a full-day practice Wednesday at the outdoor and indoor of the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
In the intra-squad match, Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal will lead the BCB Red against T20 captain Mahmududllah Riayd's BCB Green. The match will start at 9:45am Thursday.
Tamim's team includes Imrul Kayes, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mustafizur Rahman. Mahmudullah's team contains the likes of Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar and Taskin Ahmed.
Shakib and Mustafizur are set to return to the national side with the three-match ODI series. They last played for the Tigers in New Zealand earlier this year. After that, the players missed out on the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka as they took part in the Indian Premier League.
While the first match of the ODI series will take place on May 23, the remaining matches will be played on May 25 and 28. All the matches will be hosted at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Ban Tech Ltd gets BCB media rights for $19 mln
The Ban Tech Limited has been given the Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) media rights (satellite, digital OTT and DTH) for the National Team’s home series.
The agreement covers Bangladesh’s home matches between May 18, 2021, and Oct 5, 2023.
During this period, Tigers are scheduled to play seven Tests, 18 ODIs and 19 T20Is at home.
Read Shakib prefers DPL over PSL
Ban Tech Limited achieved the rights for US$19 million approximately.
Meanwhile, satellite television channels Gazi TV and T Sports have attained the rights from Ban Tech Limited to broadcast the matches of the upcoming ODI series between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
The hosts will take on Sri Lanka for three ICC ODI Championship matches in Dhaka on May 23, 25 and 28.
Read BCB trying to relax quarantine rules for Shakib, Mustafiz
Shakib prefers DPL over PSL
Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan may miss the remainder of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) for what he has been contracted with the Lahore Qalandars in the replacement draft recently.
The allrounder is reportedly more interested to take part in the Dhaka Premeir Divison Cricket League which is set to begin on May 31.
Mohammedan Sporting Club has bid to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to secure the service of Shakib.
Also read: BCB trying to relax quarantine rules for Shakib, Mustafiz
The allrounder missed the last season of the league, which was cancelled after only one round of the games, due to his ban.
Since he is a free player now, any team can bid to secure his service.
Tarikul Islam Tito, a Mohammedan official, has recently submitted a letter to the BCB saying that the allrounder is keen to take part in Dhaka League for them. Tarikul said to the Cricbuzz that the board is yet to say yes to them.
Also read: Shakib Al Hasan vs Mustafizur Rahman: Who is the most successful player in IPL?
“Instead of playing PSL, Shakib is interested to take part in Dhaka League for us. He was not a part of the league last season, and he is now a free player who can sign for any team. We have sown our interest to secure his service,” Tarikul told the media.
Shakib was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the recently-suspended Indian Premier League (IPL). He somewhat was out of form in this cash-rich event.
Along with Shakib, Bangladesh allrounder Mahmudullah Riyad and wicketkeeper-batsman Liton Das were also contracted with two different PSL franchises. But like Shakib, these two are also uncertain for the remainder of PSL which may take place in early July.
Also read: Mahmudullah, Shakib and Liton set to feature in PSL
This year’s Dhaka League will be played in the T20 format, unlike the other seasons. Kazi Inam Ahmed, the chairman of the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM), has earlier said that due to the Covid-19 situation around the country, they like to host the league in a shorter period of time.
“As decided earlier it will be a T20 event. Considering the busy international schedule and the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup, we believe that T20 is the ideal format for the 2019-20 League,” he told in a statement early this month.
BCB trying to relax quarantine rules for Shakib, Mustafiz
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is trying to convince the government to relax the quarantine rules for Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman, the board's CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury said Saturday.
Shakib and Mustafiz returned home from India on Thursday, and are under a 14-day institutional quarantine in Dhaka.
Both players were playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL), which was suspended as some cricketers had tested positive for Covid-19.
Although the government's Covid protocol requires all the inbound passengers to go through a mandatory 14-day quarantine period, the general protocol is not supposed to apply to athletes, Nizamuddin said.
Also read: Shakib, Mustafizur return to Dhaka
"We are not expecting any special arrangement or privilege for Shakib and Mustafiz. The Covid protocol followed by our country is for general people. But it is different for the international players.
"The general protocol is for people who come to the country by passenger flight after receiving a Covid negative certificate, but Shakib and Mustafiz returned home in a chartered flight and maintained a tight protocol," the BCB CEO added.
He also said the board was working closely with the health authority to minimise the quarantine period of these two cricketers.
The BCB earlier urged the health authority to reduce the period of quarantine for them, but the Directorate General of Health Services declined the request.
Also read: 14-day quarantine must for Shakib, Mustafizur
The Tigers are scheduled to play a three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka starting May 23.
If the authority stays firm to not reduce the quarantine period of Shakib and Mustafiz, the players will have to stay in institutional quarantine till May 19. This means they will get only four days to practice ahead of the series.
The Tigers recently played a two-match Test series against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka and lost it 1-0.
Bangladesh's last ODI series was in New Zealand where they lost the series 3-0 to the hosts.
14-day quarantine must for Shakib, Mustafizur
Bangladesh cricket stars— Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman— are set to return home from India within 48 hours, and right after arriving in Dhaka, they will have to maintain a mandatory 14-day quarantine period in a government-specified institute, confirmed the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The duo were playing the Indian Premier League (IPL) which was postponed on Tuesday after some players tested positive for Covid-19. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has earlier applied to DGHS to relax quarantine for these two, but DGHS said they have no choice but to maintain a quarantine period.
Currently, there is no flight operational between India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh authority has put international flights with India on hold aiming to avoid the risk of bringing Covid-19 infected people to Bangladesh.
Nizamuddin Chowdhury, the chief executive officer of BCB, has said Shakib and Mustafizur will have to return home with a special arrangement. He, however, didn’t specify what the special arrangement would be to bring them back home.
BCB is eager to ensure the service of these two in the upcoming three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka which will take place later in May. BCB has already announced a preliminary squad for this series which includes both Shakib and Mustafizur.
Bangladesh’s last international assignment was in Sri Lanka where they played two Tests. The first match of the series ended in a draw, the other game was won by the hosts by 209 runs.
Bangladesh returned home on Tuesday from Sri Lanka. After arriving in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s head coach Russell Domingo talked to the media. While talking about Shakib and Mustafizur, he said their inclusion is vital for Bangladesh to win the series against Sri Lanka at home.
“It’s good to have Shakib and Mustafizur back (in the team). The next series will be important as (World Cup) qualification points are up for grabs. We need to bounce back after a tough series in New Zealand,” Domingo told the media.
“It's good to be playing in the home conditions again. As I said, it's good to get experienced players like Shakib and Mustafiz back. We will be playing against a very dangerous side. So, we have to play really well to beat them,” Domingo added saying that the team will practice for three days before the Eid vacation.
Dhaka Premier League to begin on May 31 in T20 format
The Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM) has decided to hold the Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League (DPL) 2019-20 from 31 May 2021.
The previous season of the league was called off due to the surge of Covid-19 outbreak in the country after just one completed round of matches.
The competition will now have a fresh start and will be played in a T20 format instead of the usual 50 overs.
“The CCDM with the support of the BCB’s plan to organise the DPL from May 31,” CCDM Chairman Kazi Inam Ahmed was quoted in a media release sent by BCB on Sunday evening.
“As decided earlier it will be a T20 event. Considering the busy international schedule and the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup, we believe that T20 is the ideal format for the 2019-20 League,” he added.
After the suspension of last year’s Dhaka League, BCB organized two makeshift events later last year— BCB President’s Cup and Bangabandhu T20 Cup. BCB had also started this year’s National Cricket League, but due to the recent surge of Covid-19 cases, they opted to hold it temporarily.
“The BCB president has given a clear direction on the importance of players’ safety during these times. The board has successfully completed two tournaments this season and has hosted the West Indies in Bangladesh. We will draw from these learnings and make plans for the Bangabandhu DPL accordingly. We know what this league means to the players and clubs and appreciate their support during the planning stage,” Kazi Inam further added.