BD want immediate return for Shakib after ban

DHAKA: Bangladesh want star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan to make an instant return to international cricket in a series against Sri Lanka when his anti-corruption ban ends in October, the national board president said Saturday.

Shakib was banned for two years in 2019 for failing to report an approach by a match-fixing syndicate but one year was suspended, meaning the 33-year-old could be available from October 29.

Sri Lanka host a three-Test tour by Bangladesh later this year, with the first Test slated for October 24.

The national team will work with Shakib — once one of the world’s top rated all-rounders but plagued by disciplinary problems — to make him match fit, Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan said.

“We will take care of him from now on. One of our physios will work one-to-one with him,” Hassan told reporters.

“We are all eagerly waiting his return. Hopefully, he will be fit, ready and join our team in Sri Lanka and play.”

Hassan said he wanted the team to go to Sri Lanka in September to prepare for the tour, originally planned for July but postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. “I have proposed that we should shift most of the training to Sri Lanka,” Hassan said.