Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan said on Wednesday that he wants to retire from all formats after the 2025 Champions Trophy. Shakib also insisted that he won’t lead the side after the 2023 ODI World Cup.
“As far as international career is concerned, what I see at this moment it is up to 2025 Champions Trophy that is the ODI format. The T20 format is up to 2024 World Cup and that’s it. As far as Test goes, may be sooner, maybe after the World Cup,” Shakib told sports channel T-sports about his retirement plans, on Wednesday.
“May be I will retire from three formats at the same time and no one can tell about future but at this moment I have such an idea,” he said, adding that he never wanted full authority when captaincy was offered to him.
“As far as reality goes, I will lead till this World Cup and I won’t lead in ODIs after that. Let me clear one thing – I resigned as captain on [September ] 17th, and when I did that, I did not know that this kind of situation was coming up,” he said.
“Papon (Nazmul) bhai and team management said that they need me as captain. Not for me, but for the team, and I agreed.
“If I am not the captain, life is much easier for me. What value is captaincy adding to my career? If I were not the captain, it would be easier for me. I would bowl for 10 overs, bat, and stay relaxed,” he said.
Shakib also took a swipe at Tamim Iqbal for making a fuss about not being picked in the World Cup squad, terming it “childish behaviour”. Tamim, in a press conference, said that not injuries but BCB’s “dirty game” was why he wasn’t picked. Shakib also brushed aside speculation that he was responsible for removing Tamim from the team and brought Mahmudullah as an example, who made it to the World Cup squad after being in the wilderness for the last six months before getting a chance in the home series against New Zealand.
“Mahmudullah Riyad bhai wasn’t there, but suddenly he came to the World Cup team. I felt he could do that, but his dedication, his responsibility for the team, and his urge to play for the team, those things were noticed by all. So there is a difference,” said Shakib.
“Also, it’s not my responsibility to select the whole team. If that were the case, I would have been able to announce the team after being captain a day before the Asia Cup. You have to go through many processes, things, and facts, not only performance. On and off the field, the dressing room, the team meetings, and atmosphere, many things are taken into account before making the team.
“As I said, I have not discussed anything like that (Tamim will bat down the order or will not be picked in the opening game), so I don’t know where the question is coming from. If someone has said that, I am sure an authorized person has done it, and he was informing early so that it’s best for both parties. I don’t see anything bad in this. I am sure someone would not say something like that to create harm.
“So if someone made that proposal, is there something wrong with it? Or is it like you can’t make a proposal like that? Like you have to tell a particular person that ‘you do whatever you want?’ It’s childish behavior where someone is saying ‘it’s my bat, only I will play’.
“For the good of the team, anyone should be ready to play in any position. It’s about the team first. When I don’t know whether someone is playing the third game or the seventh game and I will only know in the morning of the game, then it’s difficult for me to select the team,” he concluded.