Shakib Al Hasan Reverses Retirement, Declares Return for One Final Full Series

Shakib Al Hasan announced that he is reversing his retirement and will return to play one final full series across all formats for Bangladesh.

Former Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan has confirmed a full return to international cricket, reversing his earlier retirement from Tests and T20Is. He plans to feature in one complete series across all three formats before stepping away.

The all-rounder has been absent from Bangladesh since May 2024. His last international outing came in the second Test against India in Kanpur.

“I am officially not retired from all formats. This is the first time I’ll be revealing that. My plan is to go back to Bangladesh, play one full series of ODI, Test, and T20, and retire. I mean, [I can] retire from all formats in a series. So it can start from T20I, ODI and Test, or Test, ODI, T20I. Either way, I’m fine, but I want to play a whole series and retire. That’s what I want,” said Shakib on the Beard Before Wicket podcast.

He added that results will not shape his decision, as his priority is to give fans a proper farewell after nearly two decades of play.

“I am hopeful. That’s why I’m playing [T20 leagues]. I think it will happen. I think when a player says something, they try to stick to their words. They normally don’t change it all of a sudden. It doesn’t matter if I play well or not. I might play a bad series after that, if I want to play. But I don’t need to do that. I think this is enough. It’s just a nicer way to say bye to the fans that have supported me always, give something back to them, playing a home series,” he added.

Shakib Al Hasan Opens Up on Illegal Bowling Action in Surrey

In the same podcast, Shakib Al Hasan opened up on the suspension he received for an illegal bowling action during his county stint with Surrey in 2024. The issue arose after a County Championship match in Taunton.

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Shakib had bowled more than 70 overs across two innings following a demanding run of international fixtures. An assessment at Loughborough University confirmed that his action breached regulations, leading to an automatic ban from ECB events and international cricket as well.

Shakib later acknowledged that fatigue influenced his altered action and accepted the match officials’ decision to report him. After failing initial tests in the UK and Chennai, he spent several weeks working with Surrey coaches to correct his technique.

“I think I was doing it a little bit intentionally because I bowled more than 70 overs in one match. I never bowled 70 overs in my career in a Test match. I had just played back-to-back Tests in Pakistan, then went straight into that four-day game. I was exhausted,” Shakib revealed.

“It is in the rules, so they had the right. I didn’t complain. I trained for a couple of weeks and went back to Surrey. They helped me a lot. After just two sessions, I was back to normal,” he concluded.

He was cleared earlier this year after a successful reassessment at Loughborough. However, the Bangladesh Cricket Board did not select him for the Champions Trophy, opting instead to list him only as a specialist batter during his recovery phase.