BCB’s President Nazmul Hassan has admitted that he didn’t like Shakib’s decision to skip Bangladesh’s upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka in order to play in the cash-rich IPL. He also revealed that the board would add clauses in the central contract regarding the players’ format.
An overlap between the Indian Premier League and an international tour often spurs up a debate of national identity and respect, for controversy. With Shakib Al Hasan’s return to the IPL auction pool, after missing a year of international cricket, the all-rounder was quickly snapped up by his former franchise Kolkata Knight Riders. However, Bangladesh’s Test series against Sri Lanka clashing with the IPL schedule put the player’s participation under doubt.
Just after his selection, Shakib confirmed his participation in the cash-rich league pulling himself out of contention for the Test series against the Islanders, which has irked the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s president Nazmul Hassan. Nazmul admitted that he didn’t like Shakib’s decision to skip the Test series for IPL duties but conceded that when the player’s mind wasn’t in Test cricket, nothing could have changed his decision.
“Couldn’t we have stopped Shakib from going (to the IPL)? He may have played but we don’t want that. We want only those to play, who really love the game. We have tried to keep him interested. When Shakib had declined to play Tests three years ago, we made him the captain,” Hassan said, reported ESPNCricinfo.
“I didn’t like the timing of it. He was among the players I expected would take charge of the difficult situation. It was disappointing,” he added.
“We have lost against Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and West Indies. Especially after losing to West Indies at home, I would have imagined everyone being desperate to play the next Test series. But when someone says I don’t want to play the next Test, and play in a franchise T20 league, it becomes very clear that we can’t do much with them.”
However, that didn’t stop the cricketing board from adding a clause into their central contract, which in reality would prevent players in the future from selectively opting out of the tournament. In the new clause, the players would have to be clear on their availability.
“We will enter into a new contact with the players (for 2021). It will be mentioned clearly who wants to play which format. They have to inform us. If they have any other engagement, they have to be clear about their availability,” he concluded.
