It is a new era for Bangladesh’s T20I squad as they are beginning life without ace all-rounder Shakib al Hasan. The veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan had announced his retirement from the format before the second Test at Kanpur. Bangladesh will surely miss Shakib Al Hasan’s service and experience but now shall turn their focus to Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who returned to T20Is after 14 months, considered to be the long-term replacement.
It also brings in to question whether Mahedi Hasan will have to pave way for Mehidy in the playing XI, despite being one of the best in the business to bowl inside first six overs. Lots of permutation and combinations are being discussed in the Bangladesh national cricket team’s dressing room post Shakib Al Hasan’s retirement, as they began their preparation for the upcoming three-match T20I series against India at Gwalior on Thursday (October 3).
Shakib Al Hasan’s stellar T20I career an inspiration for many
Shakib Al Hasan, who had announced his retirement from the shortest format of the game last month, will not be a part of the Bangladesh cricket team in the upcoming three-match T20I series against India. With that, the Bangladesh players will have a chance to replace Shakib Al Hasan in the playing XI against a formidable opponent in their own den, and former Pakistan cricketer Mushtaq Ahmed commented on the matter by stating that the youngster will have to learn from the veteran cricketer, to have the best chance of attaining success in his role.
Notably, Shakib Al Hasan had an elongated career in the T20I format, playing for more than 17 years in Bangladesh colors, earning 129 caps in the process. The 37-year-old went on to represent Bangladesh in multiple T20 World Cups, and became the highest run-getter and the wicket-taker in the shortest format of the game for the national team.
Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan announced his T20I retirement on Thursday, ahead of his team’s second Test against India at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur.
The veteran cricketer has appeared in every edition of the T20 World Cup since 2007 and ended the 2024 edition as the tournament’s all-time highest wicket-taker with 50 scalps. Speaking to reporters ahead of the second Test, Shakib also laid out his plans for the Test and ODI formats.
The 37-year-old Shakib has not travelled to Bangladesh since the political upheaval of the Sheikh Hasina regime in August. Shakib, a member of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League Party, was called out by members of the opposition and new dispensation for being absent and mum during the momentous days. Simultaneously, Shakib was also named among 147 people charged for a murder case in Dhaka last month.
The all-rounder has confirmed that he hopes to play his final Test for Bangladesh in Mirpur during the South Africa series. According to the Future Tours Program, the two-match series is slated to begin in Mirpur on October 21. Shakib Al Hasan also confirmed that the upcoming Champions Trophy in early 2025 will be his last ODI series for Bangladesh.
Shakib Al Hasan, who made his international debut in 2006, is the only cricketer to achieve the double of 14,000 runs and 700 wickets across formats. Shakib Al Hasan is the third highest wicket-taker in T20Is (149). He is also only one of two crickets to record more than 7000 runs and 300 wickets in ODIs.
Mushtaq Ahmed, former national spin bowling coach, feels that it’s a great opportunity for the players who have waited years after Shakib turned out to be a permanent fixture in Bangladesh T20I cricket.
Mushtaq Ahmed reckons Shakib Al Hasan will leave a massive void in Bangladesh’s T20I side
Former Pakistan cricketer Mushtaq Ahmed feels Shakib Al Hasan retirement from T20Is will leave a massive void in the Bangladesh side in the shortest format of the game. With the Bangla Tigers set to play a T20I series against India, Ahmed feels cricketers lining up to replace Shakib must be big-hearted ones.
Ahead of the second Test against India in Kanpur, Shakib announced his retirement from T20I cricket. The veteran also stated that the Kanpur Test would be his final game in the red-ball cricket if he doesn’t get picked for the home series against South Africa.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Mushtaq Ahmed reckoned that Shakib is fearless and hardly hesitates to take his chances. The 54-year-old remembered the veteran’s 2019 World Cup campaign, stating how he was at the top of his game at that time.
“They have to be big-hearted players. Shakib’s strength was that he was a big player because he got a big heart. He was never worried about the failures. In international cricket, you need to have a big heart. Shakib’s another strength was that he used to take chances and international cricket is all about taking chances.”
“When the great players are at the top of their game, they don’t give a sniff to their opposition. They will win the game when the opposition is down. That was Shakib’s strength. Whenever he was in a good rhythm like 2019 World Cup, he was the best player because he was scoring a lot of runs and he was getting wicket,” he added.
Shakib’s most recent T20I outing proved to be a forgettable one as he perished for a golden duck against Afghanistan in the World Cup game this year. He also went wicketless but conceded only 19 runs in four overs. Overall, he starred in a record 129 T20Is, taking 149 scalps and scoring 2551 runs.
“If you are worried about failure, you cannot be an achiever” – Mushtaq Ahmed
Mushtaq feels Shakib Al Hasan’s aggressive mindset is something the youngsters can learn a lot from, adding:
“This is a great message the young people can learn from Shakib, he was always taking the chances, taking the pressure off others. When he is bowling, he is always looking for wickets. His mindset was very aggressive. That kind of attitude you need in international cricket. If you are worried about failure, you cannot be an achiever.
If you want to be an achiever, you have to take your chances. If you have the mindset, maybe you will lose one or two games but you can win a tournament.”
Bangladesh’s three-match T20I series against India will begin on Sunday, October 6, in Gwalior.