Shakib Al Hasan to skip entire Sri Lanka tour, BCB confirms
Bangladesh veteran Shakib Al Hasan will not tour Sri Lanka in the next month for three T20Is, as many ODIs and two Test matches. But they will miss the all-rounder who is currently featuring in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has confirmed that the veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan will miss the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka. BCB's cricket operation chairman Jalal Yunus has stated that the cricketer is not available for the Test series and earlier, he wasn't picked even in the white-ball squads of the tour.
Notably, Shakib has also been struggling with his eye since the World Cup last year and even struggled at the start of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) scoring only four runs from first three innings. However, he has flourished since scoring overall 249 runs in 11 matches. "He (Shakib) wanted a break from the entire series against Sri Lanka as he didn't want to take part in international cricket. I think his eyes are fine at the moment but I feel he wants a break so that he can come back to international cricket fully fit," Yunus said while speaking to Cricbuzz.
Interestingly, there is a possibility that Shakib Al Hasan will feature in the upcoming Dhaka Premier League, the country's traditional List A tournament for Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi club starting from March 9. As for the Sri Lanka tour, Bangladesh will play T20Is first starting from March 4 and then the ODI series will commence on March 13. Moreover, the two-match Test series will clash the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 as well.
Meanwhile, another veteran player Mahmudullah has made a comeback to the T20I side for the first time since 2022. He has shown great form in the ongoing BPL season scoring 218 runs in 11 matches at a strike-rate of almost 138. "I think he (Mahmudullah) has got the power which, is what needed in this format. If you ask him, he will probably tell you that he wants to bat as high as possible. He certainly has the ability to clear the boundary and accelerate the run rate and so he could be used in couple of ways. I suppose he can bat high and make a big score or he can come later in the innings and accelerate and clear the boundaries," former Bangladesh coach Dave Whatmore said.