Premier Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, in a letter, requested the Bangladesh Cricket Board to grant him paternity leave for the birth of his third child and not consider him for the upcoming tour of New Zealand scheduled in March.

New Zealand Cricket had earlier postponed the series against Bangladesh by a week due to ongoing Covid-19 pandemic challenges and then slated the tour to begin on March 20. 

Initially, the three ODIs which were supposed to take place on March 13, 17, and 20 will now take place on March 20, 23, and 26 in Dunedin, Christchurch, and Wellington respectively. Meanwhile, the three T20Is will now be held on March 28, 30, and April 1 in Hamilton, Napier, and Auckland respectively. 

Shakib Al Hasan may not tour New Zealand for injury and personal reasons

However, star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is likely to skip the upcoming tour of New Zealand as chairman of BCB cricket operations Akram Khan revealed that they have received a letter from the all-rounder requesting them to grant paternity leave. 

"We have received a letter from him to grant leave during the tour of New Zealand as he wants to be with his wife (in the USA). We are yet to take a decision in this regard," Akram Khan told Cricbuzz.

Bangladesh is scheduled to depart for New Zealand on February 22.

Shakib Al Hasan is currently recovering from the thigh injury which he sustained during the first Test match against West Indies and has been ruled out for the second Test, which is set to take place on 11th February at Dhaka.

(CricBuzz inputs)