Delhi: Looking at the ups and downs in the cricket career of Shakib Al Hasan, one of the best and experienced cricketers of Bangladesh (129 T20 Internationals + 71 Tests + 247 ODIs), cricket experts will always keep discussing that he is the best in terms of runs and wickets. Remember for the count or for the controversy associated with his name? Even his last Test became a controversy and he was not getting the desired Test farewell. In the current circumstances, it seems that the Kanpur Test against India will be his last Test… He wanted to play the last Test in his country.
The truth is that during the recent unrest in Bangladesh, Shakib-al-Hassan’s name is also registered in the FIR in a murder case and due to fear of any action, he is not even able to go to Bangladesh. Let us see the list of some special controversies associated with his name in his career:
- 2010: During the Bangladesh-New Zealand ODI, a member of the ground staff was threatened with a bat. While batting, he was getting troubled by the continuous disturbances around the site screen. Even the site itself was moved towards the screen, removing a viewer from the front. Then the match referee gave a warning but the board did not take any action.
- 2011: Bangladesh’s dismissal for 58 runs against West Indies in Mirpur in the World Cup enraged the crowd who threw stones at the West Indies team bus and booed their team. Shakib did not like all this and showed the middle finger to the crowd. The board did not take any action.
- 2014 : After being dismissed in the ODI against Sri Lanka in Mirpur, he pointed towards his thigh, specifically towards the TV camera, which was considered very vulgar. In fact, he did not like the replays of his careless dismissal being shown again and again on TV. The board imposed a fine of 3 lakh Bangladeshi Taka and a ban of 3 matches.
- 2014: Left a board training camp midway and sent a text message to coach Chandika Hathurusingha announcing her retirement from international cricket. The board imposed a 6-month ban for this bad behaviour.
- 2014: Accused of quarreling with a spectator – says he was harassing his wife. This incident is from the first ODI against India and there was a rain break at that time.
- 2014: That year, for the first time, the board said that his poor behavior was having a direct impact on the team. After his apology, the ban was reduced to three and a half months.
- 2015: During a Bangladesh Premier League match, openly abused umpire Tanvir Ahmed after he refused an LBW appeal. The board suspended him for one match and imposed a fine of 20 thousand taka.
- 2019: The ICC banned him from international cricket for two years on three charges of breaking anti-corruption guidelines. Shakib admitted that he did not report contact with a bookie thrice. With the help of the cooling period, international cricket could be played after October 2020.
- 2021: In one of his most viral outbursts, he kicked the stumps in anger over an on-field decision. This story is from a match of Dhaka Premier League. When the play was stopped due to rain, he argued with umpire Mahfoozur Rahman and during the fight, he uprooted all three stumps with his hands and threw them on the ground. Due to this debate there was a delay in putting the cover on the ground. Later apologized on his Facebook page.
- 2023 : In a BPL match, openly shouted at the square-leg umpire for not giving a wide. The ball appeared wide in the replays but the argument with the umpire was shameful.
- 2024: During the first Test in Pakistan, once Mohammad Rizwan, after starting his run-up, quickly backed away from playing the ball, he threw the ball towards Rizwan in anger. Shakib was reprimanded.
Due to such controversies, there is a lot of debate in Bangladesh cricket on the question whether Shakib’s cricket should be celebrated or his behavior should be condemned?
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