No bar on Shakib to continue playing, says BCB boss Faruque

Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) president Faruque Ahmed said that star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan can continue to represent the country as long as he is not legally proven guilty of any misdeeds.

A murder case was filed against Shakib, a former lawmaker of the deposed Awami League government, and 146 others with the Adabor Police Station in Dhaka on August 22 over the death of a garment worker during the mass protest on August 5.

Subsequently on August 24, a legal notice by a Supreme Court lawyer was served to BCB asking it to remove Shakib from the national team and bring him back to the country for proper investigation into the murder case.

The 37-year-old cricketer, who played an important role in Bangladesh's historic 10-wicket victory against Pakistan in the first Test on Sunday, is currently with the team in Islamabad for the second Test, which begins in Rawalpindi on August 30.

Shakib Al Hasan. Photo: AFP

Talking to The Daily Star on Tuesday evening, Faruque said there is no obligation on the board to remove Shakib from the team.

"It's an FIR (against Shakib). There are a lot of legal procedures left to prove someone guilty following the filing of FIR. At this moment there is no bar on Shakib to continue playing," the new BCB boss said.  

Regarding the legal notice, Faruque said: "We have responded to the legal notice which was served to us and we have said the same thing (no bar on Shakib playing) there too."