ESPNcricinfo :
Shakib Al Hasan has been “rested” from all forms of international cricket till April 30, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said on Wednesday. He will now miss Bangladesh’s upcoming Test and One Day International (ODI) tour of South Africa, scheduled to run from March 12 to April 12. The BCB has not named a replacement for Shakib and, for now, the ODI squad will travel to South Africa without him.
On Sunday, Shakib had hinted at taking an international break because of his “physical and mental state”, saying that he needed a “long-term plan” to manage his game time. Shakib said that he felt like a “passenger” in the just-concluded Afghanistan white-ball series, where he made 74 runs and took seven wickets in the three ODIs and two T20Is.
“I don’t want to waste the time or someone’s spot,” he had said. “Playing in this way, as a passenger, it will be like betraying or cheating my team-mates and the country.”
Shakib’s comments provoked a strong response from BCB president Nazmul Hassan, who questioned the allrounder’s commitment to the national team, asking whether he would have wanted a similar break from the IPL had he been picked in the auction.
“I think it is logical to think that if he was in a poor physical and mental state, he wouldn’t have given his name in the IPL [auction],” Hassan had said. “But he went ahead with it. So, does it mean that if he got his IPL contract, he would have said the same thing?
“We can’t do anything if he doesn’t want to play [for Bangladesh]. But he can’t keep saying I will play this game, I won’t play that game. We are soft on those who we love, but they also have to be professional. Otherwise we will have to take decisions that no one will like.”
Shakib was originally named in both squads for the South Africa tour after Hassan claimed that the allrounder had agreed to go for the full series.
However, Shakib said that he was having second thoughts on his fitness during the Afghanistan series, and clarified that he had asked the BCB for a break from all Tests till mid-November: “I told the board that I wanted to stay out of Tests till November 22 this year. I wanted to concentrate fully on white-ball cricket. We have two World Cups in the next two years.”
