Post IPL snub, Shakib Al Hasan to discuss his Test future plans with BCB President

Veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was recalled to the Bangladesh side for the ongoing limited-overs series against Afghanistan. A hamstring injury that he had suffered during the T20 World Cup 2021 in October forced him to miss the succeeding Pakistan T20Is. While things seem to be sorted for the southpaw in white-ball cricket, it has been reported that he would be now working on his red-ball career plans in a couple of days’ time.

As per reports in ESPNCricinfo, Shakib will have a discussion with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan on his Test plans. Earlier this month, the star all-rounder had made himself unavailable for Test selection for six months but according to cricket operations chairman Jalal Yunus, Shakib Al Hasan has changed his mind after going unsold at the IPL 2022 mega auction.

Shakib Al Hasan won’t just talk about the South Africa series: Jalal Yunus

“Shakib had given a letter saying that he won’t be available to play Tests for six months. The scenario has changed since he won’t be playing in the IPL. He said that he will sit with the board president after the ongoing ODI series [against Afghanistan] to discuss the matter,” said Yunus as quoted by ESPN cricinfo.

“He won’t just talk about the South Africa series [the Test-leg of which starts on March 30]. Basically, we will ask him for his plan for this year. There have been media reports that he doesn’t want to play Tests, but we know that he wants to play Tests,”he added.

Shakib Al Hasan had missed the away Test series against New Zealand last month citing personal reasons and not too long ago, the middle-order sensation had also contemplated his Test future going forward as it was getting harder for him to play all three formats.

It now remains to be seen whether the 34-year-old would look forward to prolonging his red-ball career should he get a chance to feature in the two-match Test series against South Africa, scheduled in March-April. The southpaw will be available for the preceding three-match ODI series, which is scheduled to end on March 24 and with no IPL contract this time around, he has the chance to make a mark in the longest format once again.