Bangladesh veteran cricketer Shakib Al Hasan will be contesting in his country's 12th Parliamentary elections. After receiving confirmation of his nomination from the Awami League, Shakib will be fighting for the polls from his home district Magura-1 constituency. The polls are scheduled to be held on January 7.
Shakib recently led Bangladesh in the ODI World Cup 2023. He will not be the first one from the Bangladesh cricket circuit to turn to politics. Former skipper Mashrafe Mortaza became the MP from Narail during the previous elections. The BCB President Nazmul Hassan took the position of an MP in 2009.
His decision to contest elections could have a potential impact on his cricket duties when he will be campaigning for the polls. Bangladesh are scheduled to play against New Zealand in a two-match Test series at home from November 28 to December 10. They will then have to travel to New Zealand for six limited-overs games from December 11 to December 31. It will be interesting to see if he can manage to play in New Zealand despite the polling campaign.
In the ODI World Cup 2023, Shakib led the Bangladesh side to an eighth-placed finish. He helped the team confirm a direct entry into the Champions Trophy as the criteria required a top 8 finish in the World Cup points table along with hosts Pakistan. The Bangla Tigers defeated only Afghanistan and Sri Lanka in their nine games in the tournament.
