DHAKA
\nBangladesh cricket chiefs have reopened the door for ex-captain Shakib Al Hasan\u2019s return, a star player but who was also a lawmaker in the former ruling party overthrown in a 2024 uprising.
\nShakib\u2019s links to ousted leader Sheikh Hasina made him a target of public anger, and he was among dozens facing murder investigations for a deadly police crackdown on protesters.
\nThe all-rounder announced his retirement from international cricket in 2024, but said he would like to reverse that decision last month.
\nBangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) senior official Amzad Hossain said he could play again.
\nHe added that the BCB would issue Shakib no-objection certificates (NOC) to play in overseas leagues.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe board has taken a unanimous decision that if Shakib Al Hasan\u2019s availability, fitness and accessibility allow it \u2014 and if he can be present at the venue where matches are played \u2014 then the board and the selection panel will consider him for the national team,\u201d Hossain told reporters late Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he wants to participate in other global tournaments, the board will provide him NOC as required,\u201d Amzad added.
\nShakib had earlier apologised for remaining silent during the student-led uprising but defended his decision to serve the regime it toppled.
\nBangladesh cricket is reeling from being kicked out of next month\u2019s T20 World Cup, after the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Saturday replaced Bangladesh with Scotland.
\nThe BCB had refused to send its players to India and pleaded for games to be shifted to co-host Sri Lanka.
\nThe dispute between New Delhi and Dhaka erupted this month when the Indian cricket board ordered the Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders to release Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman.
\nThe ICC said it had found no credible security threat to Bangladesh in India, but the BCB said the matter was beyond their control.
\n\u201cThis is a government decision taken on security grounds,\u201d Amzad said. \u201cBecause of that, there was nothing more we could do.\u201d
\nShakib was playing in a domestic Twenty20 cricket competition in Canada when Hasina\u2019s government collapsed and has not returned to Bangladesh since.
\nThe left-arm allrounder has played 71 Tests, 247 one-day internationals and 129 Twenty20s for Bangladesh, taking a combined 712 wickets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DHAKA Bangladesh cricket chiefs have reopened the door for ex-captain Shakib Al Hasan\u2019s return, a star player but who was also a lawmaker in the former ruling party overthrown in a 2024 uprising. Shakib\u2019s links to ousted leader Sheikh Hasina made him a target of public anger, and he was among dozens facing murder investigations […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":527751,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-527738","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n