E-Paper
Sign in
Shakib Al Hasan admits to chucking ‘intentionally’ following bowling ban in County Championship: ‘Completely exhausted’
Shakib Al Hasan admits to chucking “intentionally” in the County Championship while playing for Surrey.
Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who currently finds himself out of favour with the national setup, has finally admitted to chucking intentionally in the County Championship when he was playing for Surrey. In a candid admission, Shakib said that extreme physical fatigue prompted him to do so during the game, which eventually led to his suspension from bowling. It is worth mentioning that the said incident resulted in Shakib being banned from bowling in all competitions organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
Following an independent assessment at Loughborough University in December last year, Shakib's action was found illegal. His bowling action was first reported by the on-field umpires during Surrey’s first-class match against Somerset in Taunton, where the left-arm spinner bowled close to 65 overs across the two innings.
Shakib then also failed a second bowling assessment in Chennai, and this resulted in the all-rounder being left out of Bangladesh's Champions Trophy squad.
Also Read: 'Sehwag who?': Shakib Al Hasan brutally owns India great after being told he should retire from Bangladesh cricket
“I think I was doing it a little bit intentionally because I bowled more than 70 overs in one match. I have never bowled 70 overs in a Test match in my career. I was playing that four-day match for Surrey against Somerset at Taunton, and I was completely exhausted," Shakib said on the Beard Before Wicket podcast.
“I had just played back-to-back Test matches in Pakistan, which we won, and then went straight into those four-day matches. The only thing I felt the umpire could have done was at least warn me first. But it is in the rules, so they had the right. I did not complain," he added.
‘Want home farewell’
It is worth mentioning that Shakib, a former Member of Bangladesh Parliament, had fled from Bangladesh last year following the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina’s government. Following this, he retired from Test cricket and has not been picked in Bangladesh’s white-ball squads.
However, the all-rounder stated that he has not retired from all formats of the game, and his dream remains to return to Bangladesh to play a full-fledged ODI or T20I series.
“I am officially not retired from all formats. This is the first time I am revealing this. My plan is to return to Bangladesh, play one full series of ODIs, Tests, and T20Is, and then retire. I want to play a whole series and retire. That is what I want," he said.
“I am hopeful. That is why I am playing T20 leagues. I think it will happen,” he added.
