Shakib responds to sports adviser Facebook post

 
Bangladesh's ace all-round Shakib Al Hasan, also a former Awami League Member of Parliament indirectly blamed Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan for keeping the door close to play for Bangladesh.

Shakib Al Hasan and Sports Adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan both posted statuses on Facebook on Sunday night but neither naming names.

Shakib wrote on Facebook, "'Well, finally someone admitted that because of him, I couldn't wear the Bangladesh jersey again and couldn't play for Bangladesh!"

"Maybe, I will return to my motherland someday, I love Bangladesh."

But it all started when Shakib posted a picture on Facebook where he is seen with former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled after the mass uprising last year. In the photo caption, Shakib wrote, "Happy Birthday, Apa."

And after posting this in a veiled response to Shakib's post, Adviser Asif wrote on his personal Facebook profile, "You hurled a thousand insults at me for not rehabilitating one person. But I was right. End of the discussion."

He also shared that post on his verified official page, drawing similar reactions from netizens.

Shakib is currently playing in different franchise T20 cricket leagues around the world. A few days ago, he featured in the Caribbean Premier League. His last match for Bangladesh was against India in October last year.

The BCB kept its distance from Shakib since October last year. That's when Shakib had last played for Bangladesh, the second Test against India in Kanpur. Shakib had announced before that match that he wanted to finish his Test career at home, against South Africa in October, and that he was also done with T20Is.

Political unrest in Bangladesh, however, stopped Shakib from making that final appearance since he was a member of parliament for the Awami League, the political party that was ousted from power on August 5, after their rule of 15 years.

Shakib has not returned to Bangladesh since then and the BCB continued to ignore him in the subsequent series, also leaving him out of the Champions Trophy squad.

Shakib had planned to retire from Tests with a match against South Africa in Dhaka in October last year. He was even included in the squad for that game. However, he could not return home, something he says he still regrets.

Like many others, there is a murder case against Shakib, there are allegations of share market scandal against him, and there is a case from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).