by Retired Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan says he doubts he will be able to return to his home country due to “security issues”, meaning he will miss a final series of Tests.
The 37-year-old announced his retirement from international cricket last month but has been named in the Tigers’ squad to face South Africa in two Tests, the first of which begins on October 21.
However, Shakib is also a former member of Parliament and a former lawmaker in the government that was overthrown by protesters in August, and he has been discouraged from returning to the country due to public anger.
“I should return home… but now I don’t think I can,” Shakib told broadcaster bdnews24.com.
“It’s a safety issue, a question of my own safety.”
Shakib is considered one of his country’s greatest athletes with 4,609 runs in 71 Test matches.
As a spin bowler, he holds the record for most Test wickets in Bangladesh history with 246.
In January he became a member of parliament for the then-ruling Awami League party, whose former leader Sheikh Hasina fled the country in August.
Shakib is among dozens of Hasina’s party members who have faced murder investigations against him after police used deadly force against demonstrators during the uprising.
Shakib apologized in a Facebook post earlier this month for remaining silent during the revolution.
However, Asif Mahmud, who heads the sports ministry, said that “the recent protests indicate that it was not enough” and that he had advised Shakib not to return to avoid “adverse incidents”.
“This decision was taken to ensure the safety of the players and protect the country’s image,” Mahmud added in a statement.
Bangladeshi media said Shakib was in Dubai but would travel to the US.
When the regime collapsed, Shakib played in a domestic Twenty20 cricket competition in Canada and has not returned to Bangladesh since. He toured Pakistan and India with the Bangladesh team.
The first Test against South Africa in Mirpur, near the capital Dhaka, will be the first international cricket match in Bangladesh since crowds stormed Sheikh Hasina’s palace.
According to Bangladesh’s Ministry of Health, more than 700 people died in the unrest.
The second Test will be played in the port city of Chittagong, also known as Chattogram, from October 29.
