Shakib Al Hasan left out of West Indies series

Bangladesh’s cricket star, Shakib Al Hasan, has recently been left out of the national team for the upcoming ODI series against the West Indies. This decision comes after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) expressed concerns about his mental readiness to play.

Shakib, who announced his retirement from Test and T20 cricket, had hoped to play his final Test on home soil, but security issues led to his last Test match being the one against India in Kanpur, played in September. 

However, Shakib hasn’t yet retired from One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and had planned to continue playing through to next year’s Champions Trophy.

But his chance of playing in the Champions Trophy looks uncertain now. 

The BCB is all set to announce the squad for the West Indies series starting on December 8, and Shakib‍‍`s name is missing from the list. 

According to sources within the board, the selectors have already submitted the squad without Shakib, following instructions from the higher-ups.

There have been rumors that Shakib set certain conditions for the BCB in exchange for playing in the series, but these were not accepted. 

As a result, Shakib won’t be part of the three-match ODI series against the West Indies. Currently, Shakib is playing in the Abu Dhabi T10 League with the Bangla Tigers.

This exclusion follows a challenging period for Shakib, who has faced legal and financial troubles in recent months. He was involved in a high-profile murder case after the fall of the ruling government in Bangladesh in August. 

Additionally, he was fined 50 lakh taka due to alleged stock market manipulation, and both his and his wife’s bank accounts were frozen. 

Reports suggest that Shakib asked the BCB to help resolve these issues, including lifting the freeze on his accounts and securing his ability to play in Bangladesh.

However, a senior official from the BCB denied that such requests were made. Instead, the official explained that the reason Shakib was excluded from the squad was because of concerns about his mental state. 

"We believe Shakib’s mental condition isn’t suitable for playing international cricket right now," said the official. "Playing in a T10 league is very different from representing the national team in ODIs. We felt it was better not to include him in this series."

The decision to leave Shakib out of the squad wasn‍‍`t based on his cricketing abilities but rather his emotional and psychological state, according to BCB officials. 

The selection committee, led by Gazi Ashraf Hossain, followed the board‍‍`s advice and made the decision to exclude Shakib. The announcement of the squad is expected soon.

Shakib also missed the recent series against Afghanistan in Sharjah, which he opted out of himself. 

Before that series, BCB President Faruk Ahmed had said that Shakib needed time to prepare himself after not being able to play his last Test in Bangladesh. 

"His chances of playing in the Afghanistan series were low, and it depended on his mental readiness," Faruk had said.

While Shakib‍‍`s future with the team remains unclear, the BCB’s decision has drawn attention and raised questions about his mental and emotional state moving forward. Attempts to reach Shakib for comment were unsuccessful, and the BCB has not provided further statements on the matter.