Dhaka — Shakib Al Hasan (pictured) will skip Bangladesh’s white-ball tour of Zimbabwe, the BCB’s cricket operations chairman Jalal Yunus has confirmed. Shakib is also reportedly out of the ODI series in the West Indies, which begins next week.
Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim, the other three senior players, are available for the Zimbabwe tour. Bangladesh will play three T20Is and as many ODIs during their two-week trip, starting July 30. It was initially assumed that the board may send a second-string side because of the team’s busy schedule this year and the fact that the ODIs are not part of the World Cup Super League, but Yunus said otherwise.
“Most of the senior players are available,” Yunus said.
“They all want to play [in Zimbabwe]. Shakib informed us that he isn’t going. We have confirmed a team with the selectors. A full-strength team will go to Zimbabwe. It is an important series although [the World Cup Super League] points are not involved. But we want to do well there. Many people said it would be a second-string team but no, we want to send a strong Bangladesh side.”
Tamim, though, will not be part of the T20I series. He had said earlier this year that he would take a six-month break from the format. Yunus said the board was waiting for an update from Tamim about his hiatus.
“Tamim will let us know, maybe after this series or end of July,” Yunus said.
“He had asked for time till July and he was supposed to inform us in August. At the end of July, or at the beginning of August, he will inform. We don’t have to give reminders. We have held plenty of meetings with him. So there is nothing to remind him of.
“He didn’t even tell us if he is available for the [T20] World Cup. Forget the World Cup, whether or not he will play T20Is is important. We were always positive and we wanted him. The decision belongs to him, not us.”— cricinfo
