Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Faruque Ahmed on Friday said that the board cannot provide the “individual security” requested by Shakib Al Hasan for his final Test in Dhaka against South Africa in October.
Shakib expressed his desire to retire from Test cricket on home soil during the series against South Africa, which is still awaiting security clearance from Cricket South Africa.
The uncertainty surrounding the series stems from unrest in Bangladesh due to massive student protests in July and August, which resulted in hundreds of deaths. Following this, Sheikh Hasina resigned as prime minister on August 5 and fled the country.
Shakib was named among 147 individuals in a murder case in Dhaka last month. He became a member of the Awami League-led government in January this year.
In a pre-match press conference for the second Test against India in Kanpur, Shakib sought security assurances from the BCB.
In response, Faruque said, “Shakib’s security is not in the board’s hands. The board can’t provide personal security. He needs to make a decision on that. His security must come from the highest level of government.” He further clarified, “BCB is not a security agency like the police or RAB (Rapid Action Battalion). We haven’t spoken to anyone in the government about him. Since his case is sub judice, we can’t do much.”
Faruque also said that he did not attempt to dissuade Shakib from retiring, saying, “Of course, there’s nothing like it if he plays his last Test at home. Shakib is going through a difficult phase in his life. I respect his decision.”
Earlier this week, BCB cricket operations chief Shahriar Nafees assured that Shakib would not be “harassed unfairly” upon his return to Bangladesh for the first time since the fall of the Awami League government of which he was a part.