Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Tuesday (August 27) confirmed that veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan will continue representing the country despite being named in a First Information Report (FIR) related to a murder case during the recent protest in Bangladesh.
Earlier, BCB officials had said that they would take a call on Shakib's future participation following the first Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi.
However, as per the latest Cricbuzz report, the board has decided to allow Shakib to continue playing until any charges are substantiated.
"He [Shakib] will continue playing. We received a legal notice regarding bringing him back and we replied them saying this [that he will continue to play]," BCB president Faruque Ahmed was quoted as saying in Bengali Daily Prothom Alo.
"Right now the FIR is filed and it is in the initial stage and there are lot of steps after this and until he is proven guilty we will make him play. The Bangladesh team will go to India after the Pakistan series and we want him in that series as well.
"He is our contracted player and if necessary we will give him legal assistance," Ahmed added.
Following the accusation, Shajib Mahmood Alam - a Supreme Court lawyer - had sent a legal notice to the BCB asking for the immediate removal of Shakib from all forms of cricket.
The notice further stated that ICC regulations don't allow Shakib to be part of international cricket since has been named in a case.
It also requested that Shakib be brought back to Bangladesh to assist in the probe and that the ICC be informed of the situation.
Despite the ongoing controversy, Shakib Al Hasan is expected to play the second Test against Pakistan, starting August 30 in Rawalpindi. In fact, the cricketer will not return after the Pakistan series as he is scheduled to travel to England to play a four-day match for Surrey.
"He [Shakib] has not played red-ball cricket for a while and that is why we have given him an NOC to play for Surrey as it will help him to adjust with red-ball cricket more than anything else," a BCB official told Cricbuzz.
After his stint with Surrey, Shakib is expected to rejoin the Bangladesh team in India for their two-match Test series, slated to get underway on September 19 at Chepauk.
