Bangladesh team and establishment are awaiting the return of their most famous player in Shakib Al Hasan as he completes his one-year anti-corruption rule violation ban on Thursday.

Hasan was banned for two years, with one year suspended, for failing to report a corrupt approach by ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit on October 29 last year.

He was supposed to miss the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia, had it happened as per schedule. But the Coronavirus pandemic resulted in the tournament being postponed to 2022. However, he did miss the IPL 2020 which is underway in UAE after being moved from its usual slot in March-April.  

"It happened to me so other people can learn from me": Shakib-Al-Hasan on his one-year ban

Shakib during numerous interactions later has confessed that it was a mistake on his part to have notified the authorities. "Our boy is coming back home," said an elated Bangladesh T20 captain Mahmudullah.

"We know that Shakib has been the best player for so many years, for the Bangladesh cricket team. We are all eagerly waiting for his return to the dressing room. It feels good to know that we can see him, talk to him and spend time with him," Mahmudullah was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

The 33-year-old all-rounder is currently in the United States with his family and is expected to return to Bangladesh early next month.

"Shakib is a champion player. I think it won't take him long to get back to rhythm. I believe that he will get it back as soon as he enters the cricket field. The biggest thing is that we can fill up the gap that his absence had created. He always makes important contributions with the bat and ball," said Mahmudullah.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chief selector Minhajul Abedin also said that Shakib will be welcomed with open arms and will be eased into the international scene through the domestic route.

"Our best player is coming back to the field. He now has to prepare himself for domestic tournaments since we don't have any international series for the time being. We have to monitor his physical condition. Let him start in domestic cricket. We should give him time but he is a very experienced player. He won't take long to get back into rhythm," Abedin said.

"We definitely missed him. He is one of the best all-rounders in the world, and there are so few of them these days. We are lucky to have a batting all-rounder like him, which gives us a lot of advantage,” Abedin added.

(PTI inputs)