Shakib to be barred from playing for Bangladesh, says sports adviser

Bangladesh's most accomplished cricketer Shakib Al Hasan will never appear in national colours, according to Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Mahmud.

Speaking to private television Channel24 over the phone on Monday night, Asif made the declaration following a heated exchange on social media. Asif said he would instruct Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) not to allow Shakib to play for Bangladesh again.

The dispute began after Shakib posted a picture with former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, wishing her a happy birthday on Monday. What followed was a series of heated but indirect Facebook posts, with neither side naming the other outright. Asif wrote that he had been right not to "rehabilitate" Shakib, while the cricketer countered that it was Asif who had prevented him from wearing the national jersey.

Asif later elaborated: "He cannot be allowed to carry the Bangladesh flag. Wearing the Bangladesh jersey is not something I can possibly approve… Shakib Al Hasan will never play for Bangladesh again."

He accused Shakib of being "deeply tied" to Awami League politics, despite the all-rounder's insistence that he only contested elections to serve his constituency.

Shakib, elected MP for Magura in the 12th national polls, has remained abroad since last year's July-August uprising that ousted the Awami League, and faces a murder case, stock market fraud allegations, and Anti-Corruption Commission charges.

Asif pointed to these issues as reasons why Shakib could not be brought back into the fold. "Why should someone be rehabilitated just because he's a good cricketer? The law is equal for all. Face it," he wrote in one of several posts.

Shakib, however, downplayed the birthday post, telling Channel24: "She always followed cricket seriously… from that place, I can wish someone a happy birthday. There was no other motive."

For now, at 38, his record stands: over 14,000 international runs, more than 650 wickets, and a place in history as the first cricketer to score 6,000 ODI runs and take 300 wickets. His 2019 World Cup campaign remains one of the finest in the tournament's history.

The standoff has left Shakib's future in Bangladesh colours seemingly closed. Yet earlier this year, the 38-year-old defended both his political decisions and his hope of returning to cricket. "I don't see anything wrong in what I did… I still believe I was right because my intention was to work for the people of Magura," he said in an interview, stressing that joining politics was a citizen's right.

He argued that real change could only come from within the system. "If I wanted to make significant changes, I needed to be inside it. How can you change the system unless you're part of it?" Shakib had said, adding that his original plan had been to play the 2025 Champions Trophy -- held earlier this year -- before gradually transitioning into politics.