Bangladesh Cricket Board might withdraw Shakib Al Hasan from the second Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi.
Bangladesh are currently eighth in the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle 2023-25. In a quest to qualify for the final, the Bangla Tigers are in a soup in the middle of a Test series against continental rivals Pakistan.
Shakib could be out of the second and the decisive game, as the inaugural match looks as good as a draw. The visitors would be without the services of their best player, who has possibly landed himself into trouble.
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Why Bangladesh might withdraw Shakib Al Hasan from the second Test against Pakistan?
Shakib, along with 155 others, was recently named in the FIR filed by a certain Rafiqul Islam, the father of a garment factory worker named Rubel, who was shot by a bullet and eventually killed earlier this month.
Following the filing of an FIR, a judge of the Bangladesh Supreme Court handed a legal notice to BCB and asked them to remove Shakib from all forms of cricket, per Cricbuzz.
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What did BCB say about the curious case of Shakib Al Hasan?
Bangladesh Cricket Board are yet to receive any legal notice about Shakib Al Hasan. BCB President Faruque Ahmed revealed about a possible exclusion of Shakib ahead of the second Test in Rawalpindi.
"Let me say about Shakib. A case has been lodged. We are yet to get any legal notice. FIR (first information letter) was given in the case and later there will be an investigation and following that, the case will move in one direction or the other," Ahmed told reporters after the meeting.
"After tomorrow, once the game is over, we will sit and take a decision. By this time, we will also be able to say something about the legal notice as we will have received it by that time."
Bangladesh are currently playing in the first Test against Pakistan. The team have performed supremely well to turn the trail to Pakistan. The BCB chief has admitted that the 37-year-old cannot be removed from the game in the middle of the match.
The BCB would decide after receiving a legal notice regarding Shakib, who is yet to be charged or accused. The decision would be made ahead of the second and final Test match, starting from August 30.
"Look, the FIR is just the first information letter and they are yet to claim any charge as far as I know, so before that, it is difficult to take a decision. The relationship between BCB and Shakib Al Hasan is like a player and an employer according to the contract. After tomorrow, we can think exactly about getting the legal notice and based on that. I cannot withdraw him from the middle of the Test match," he said.
He added, "The second Test match is from August 30, so there is a gap between the games. During this period, we can think about what can be done in this regard."
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