DHAKA: Retiring former skipper Shakib Al Hasan told local media on Thursday he was not returning to Bangladesh because of “a security issue”, potentially missing what he says will be his final match for his country.

The 37-year-old announced his retirement from international cricket last month but said that he wanted to play one last Test series at home.

He was named in the Bangladesh squad to face South Africa, with the first of two Tests starting Oct 21, and had been expected to fly back to Dhaka on Thursday.

Shakib is also a former lawmaker from the party of autocratic ex-leader Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted in a student-led revolution in August, fleeing by helicopter to India.

Shakib is among dozens from Hasina’s party facing murder investigations for a deadly police crackdown on protesters during the uprising.

“I was to return home... but now I don’t think I can,” Shakib told broadcaster bdnews24.com. “It is over a security issue, a matter of my own security.”

He added that it was his “final decision”, but it was not immediately clear if he may yet return to play.

The broadcaster and other Bangladesh media said Shakib was in Dubai but would be heading to the US.

Shakib was playing in a domestic T20 cricket competition in Canada when the regime collapsed and has not returned to Bangladesh since.

But he has toured Pakistan and India with the Bangladesh team with the approval of the interim government established to govern the country after Hasina’s departure.

The first Test against South Africa in Mirpur, near the capital Dhaka, will be the first international cricket fixture in Bangladesh since crowds stormed Hasina’s palace.

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2024