Shakib Al Hasan Plans Final Bilateral Series Before Retirement

Former Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan has reversed his decision to retire from Test and T20I cricket. The all-rounder now aims to play in all three formats one last time before officially ending his international career.

In September 2024, on the eve of the second Test against India in Kanpur, Shakib announced his immediate retirement from T20Is and informed the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) of his intention to retire from Test cricket after the subsequent home series against South Africa in Mirpur, pending security clearance.

Following that announcement, Shakib did not receive security clearance to return to Bangladesh and has been living abroad since the change in government. A Member of Parliament under the previous administration, he has not played international cricket for over a year.

Currently participating in various franchise leagues, Shakib stated he is continuing to play to maintain fitness in hopes of a return to Bangladesh.

"I am hopeful to return to Bangladesh and that's why I am playing—to retire in front of the home crowd. I think it will happen, and that's the only reason I am playing: to stay fit and in shape so I can make myself available for international cricket," Shakib said on the Beard Before Wicket podcast featuring Moeen Ali.

"I am officially not retired from all formats. This is the first time I'll be revealing that," he added.

"My plan is to go back to Bangladesh, play one full series of ODI, Test, and T20, and retire. I want to play a whole series and retire. That's what I want," he explained, noting he will not continue after that series.

"I think when a player says something, they try to stick to their words. They normally don't change it all of a sudden. It doesn't matter if I play well or not. I might play a bad series, but I don't need to do that," Shakib said.

"I think this is enough. It's just a nicer way to say bye to the fans that supported me always, to give something back to them by playing a home series," he added.

Shakib last played Test cricket against Pakistan and India in 2024. While he was effectively barred from international cricket during that period, this marks the first time a government official has publicly confirmed the ban.

Reflecting on a past incident, Shakib mentioned, "I think I was doing it a little bit intentionally because I bowled more than 70 overs in one match—I never bowled 70 overs in my career in a Test match. I was playing that four-day match for Surrey against Somerset in Taunton. I was so tired after back-to-back Test matches in Pakistan. The only thing I was thinking was the umpire could have warned me first, at least. But it is in the rules, so they had the right. I didn't complain."

"After failing a test, I trained for a couple of weeks. Surrey was kind enough to help me. I did two sessions and was back to normal. I was like, 'it's so easy'," he recalled.