BCB President Confirms Shakib to Continue Playing Until Proven Guilty in Ongoing Murder Case: Report

After being named in a First Information Report (FIR) regarding a murder case during the violent protests in Bangladesh, the veteran cricketer Shakib al Hasan is set to continue playing international cricket as said by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).

In a report by Cricbuzz, the BCB President was quoted saying that the experienced all-rounder would continue representing the country despite being served a legal notice sent in by a Supreme Court lawyer who suggested that Shakib should not be part of the team since he has been named in the case, citing the rules of the International Cricket Council (ICC).

“He (Shakib) will continue playing. We received a legal notice regarding bringing him back and we replied to them saying this [that he will continue to play],” the BCB president Faruque Ahmed was quoted in a leading Bengali Daily Prothom Alo on Tuesday.

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The BCB President revealed that Shakib would continue to play until he is proven guilty by the courts. He plans on having Shakib in the side for their tour of India as well which is set to take place next month.

He said, “Right now the FIR is filed and it is in the initial stage and there are a lot of steps after this and until he is proven guilty we will make him play. The Bangladesh team will go to India after the Pakistan series and we want him in that series as well.

He is our contracted player and if necessary we will give him legal assistance,” he added.

The all-rounder will not be returning to the country after the Pakistan tour. Instead, he will be in England, taking part in a four-day match for Surrey for which the BCB has provided a No-Objection Certificate (NOC)

“He has not played red-ball cricket for a while and that is why we have given him an NOC to play for Surrey as it will help him to adjust with red-ball cricket more than anything else,” a BCB official was quoted by Cricbuzz.

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Shakib played a pivotal role in Bangladesh’s historic win over Pakistan in Rawalpindi. In the final innings, he picked up three important wickets and bowled 16 overs on the trot to help the visitors take the win.

Bangladesh are set to tour India where the two sides will play a two-match Test series followed by a three-match T20I series.