Shakib Al Hasan to return home from South Africa after 3rd ODI due to family emergency

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has decided to stay back in South Africa for the third and final ODI of the series. The cricket star had initially planned to leave home on Monday night after several of his family members were hospitalized due to several ailments.

Khaled Mahmud, Bangladesh's team director, revealed that the board had booked flight tickets for Shakib's return. However, the senior player is now set to leave after taking part in the third ODI. Mahmud was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo:

"A number of his family members are sick so he is in hesitation. He is speaking to his family about whether he needs to return to Dhaka. We have had to book a few tickets for him in the last few days. We booked a ticket today as well because he was supposed to leave today,"

"But Shakib turned it down himself. He will return after playing [the third ODI]. Definitely, he was supposed to return home, which Jalal (Yunus, chairman of the BCB's cricket operations committee) bhai said earlier in the day. But shortly afterwards, Shakib decided that he will leave after playing."

Meanwhile, Bangladesh are currently battling it out in a three-match ODI series against hosts South Africa. The visitors secured a stunning 38-run victory in the opening fixture. However, they lost the subsequent contest by seven wickets.

The two teams are set to lock horns in the third and final ODI on March 23 at SuperSport Park in Centurion. Following the white-ball rubber, the sides will face off in a two-match Test series.

It is worth mentioning that the seasoned campaigner had earlier requested BCB to rest him from international cricket. Shakib was not keen on touring South Africa due to physical and mental fatigue. However, he later reversed his decision and made himself available for the series against the Proteas.

Shakib Al Hasan will not be a part of IPL 2022

Shakib Al Hasan will not feature in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2022) after he went unsold at last month's mega-auction. The ace all-rounder was released by the Kolkata Knight Riders prior to the auction and he found no buyers at the two-day event.

Shakib's wife Umme Ahmed Shishir had posted a statement on Facebook in which she revealed that a couple of franchises had approached the player for this year's cash-rich league before the auction. She disclosed that the cricket star had made it clear that he would not be available for the whole season, which is why he did not get any bids.

IPL 2022 is set to kick off on March 26 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai with a blockbuster clash between last year's finalists Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders.