Shakib Al Hasan: Bangladesh cricket’s unruly champion
The Hindu
Shakib Al Hasan: Bangladesh's cricket legend with a controversial past, unmatched achievements, and enduring legacy in the sport.
Bangladesh cricketer Shakib Al Hasan is the leading all-rounder of his era, whose laundry list of achievements is rivalled only by his disciplinary infractions and his brief political career under his country’s loathed ex-leader.
Shakib, who announced his international retirement on Thursday (September 26, 2024), was the driving force of his team’s rise to become serious international contenders, enthralling fans through both star turns and scandals.
The 37-year-old remains the only player to have topped the International Cricket Council all-rounder rankings in all three formats simultaneously.
Selectors have tolerated his transgressions and occasional defiance as the price of sporting glories that in 2022 saw him named his country’s greatest athlete by eminent Bangladeshi sports journalists.
“Cricket in Bangladesh is divided into two eras: before and after Shakib Al Hasan,” veteran sports reporter Montu Kayser told AFP last year.
“It’s like before and after Christ. He is the Jesus Christ of Bangladesh cricket.”
Of the many controversies in Shakib’s career, none have dogged him like his decision to contest sham elections in January under autocratic ex-premier Sheikh Hasina.