Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Saturday (January 11) confirmed that veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan remains suspended from bowling after failing a reassessment test in Chennai recently.
Shakib was banned from bowling in all domestic and international competitions after the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) suspended him for an illegal action during a County Stint in September 2024.
The seasoned campaigner failed for an assessment of his action at Loughborough University earlier and hasn't been able to clear the reassessment at the Sri Ramachandra Centre for Sports Science in Chennai.
"Consequently, the player's existing suspension from bowling in international cricket following the initial independent assessment at the testing centre of Loughborough University in the UK, also remains in place," BCB said in a statement.
"A successful reassessment is required for the bowling suspension to be lifted. While Shakib is currently unable to bowl, he is eligible to continue playing as a batsman in all forms of domestic and international cricket."
Meanwhile, a member of the BCB selection committee has stated that Shakib's chances of getting picked in the Champions Trophy squad are slim if he is not allowed to bowl.
"If he (Shakib) is not bowling chances are slim (to play in the Champions Trophy)," the member of the BCB selection panel told Cricbuzz on the condition of anonymity.
"Tamim is sorted (having announced retirement), and Shakib needs to come after giving his third (bowling reassessment) test and I am in doubt regarding his chances in the tournament," the member said.
"So you can say that we are preparing the squad without them (Tamim and Shakib) as we will not be thinking of Shakib if he is not bowling. If BCB feels that he can come after the test, we can go for replacement as we have time," he added.
The selection panel is still contemplating the inclusion of out-of-form Litton Das for the opening slot. Tanzid Hasan and Soumya Sarkar, who is recovering from a finger injury, are likely to pip Das, who managed to score only 6 runs in 5 ODIs last year.
The selector added that they are also mulling over Parvez Hossain Emon, Saif Hassan and Anamul Haque.
"We are stuck with one slot in the opening position. We will sit soon and finalise it," he said. "There are quite a few names like Parvez Hossain Emon and Saif Hassan while Anamul is also scoring regularly. Whether we will take a new face in the Champions Trophy is a matter of discussion and Emon is a bit ahead of Saif in this regard."
(With Cricbuzz Inputs)
