Shakib Al Hasan banned for six months after threatening to quit international cricket

Shakib Al Hasan

Following reports of the Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan threatening the newly appointed national head coach Chandika Hathurusingha that he will quit international cricket if forced to cut short his Caribbean Premier League (CPL) commitments, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has banned him for six months after hearing from both sides.

The 27-year-old is also dealt another major blow, as he won’t be given a No Objection Certificate to participate in any of the domestic T20 leagues till the end of 2015. Shakib getting into a brawl with a fan during the first One Day International match against India on June 15 also seems to have played a part in the board arriving at such a decision.

Earlier, Shakib was asked to come back home early to join the team’s training camp ahead of the bilateral series against West Indies, which starts on August 20. The former Bangladesh captain, however, wanted to stay with Barbados Tridents to see through the tournament and offered instead to join the team directly in the West Indies after the tournament gets over on August 16, in case if his team make it to the finals.

Hathurusingha, though, was in no mood to entertain the request, which led to a feud between the two that ultimately ended in Shakib intimidating the coach to quit in an attempt to get his way, which led to the controversy.

WisdenIndia quoted Nazmul Hassan, the BCB president, as saying, “He has a severe attitude problem, which is unprecedented in the history of Bangladesh cricket. We think that his behaviour is such that it’s directly impacting the team.”

“We want to give a clear message: if it is repeated, he might be banned for life,” he said. “There will be no compromise when it comes to discipline.”

The world No. 2 ODI all-rounder, however, denied making any such statements but did admit to entering into an argument with his coach and apologised for it, too, yesterday.

Shakib is easily the best cricketer to have emerged out of Bangladesh in their relatively short cricketing history. Having represented his country in 205 matches, the left-arm spinning all-rounder has over 7000 international runs and 300 international wickets and is one of the most sought-after names in domestic leagues.

It also means that the defending Indian Premier League champions Kolkata Knight Riders will miss out on their star player’s services during this year’s Champions League T20, which is expected to start early September, in India.

Breaking: BCB ban Shakib Al Hasan for 6 months. He will also not be given NOCs to play in domestic T20 leagues until the end of 2015.

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) July 7, 2014