The episode of the Shakib Al Hassan’s returning home to bid his farewell Test at home ground came to an end when he cancelled his Dhaka bound flight from Dubai on Thursday.
Shabib Al Hassan, who was named in Bangladesh's 15-member squad for the first of the two-Test series against South Africa and was supposed to fly for Dhaka from UAE on Wednesday to play his final Test, all possibility his returning home for farewell Test at homeground is finished, as his homecoming was hold.
Shakib Al Hassan was scheduled to land in Dhaka from Dubai last night to play his final Test in a Bangladesh jersey when the Tigers will take on the Proteas in the first match in Mirpur on October 21 but agroup of students burned his effigy at the Dhaka University campus protesteing his return home on Wednesday.
Upon arriving in Dubai en route from the USA, Shakib was asked by BCB to wait instead of continuing to Dhaka.
Despite remaining the uncertainties, Shakib received a green signal from the interim government and had made all travel arrangements to return on Thursday. It was also learned that the 37-year-old cricketer was scheduled to board the Dhaka-bound flight from Dubai at 5:00pm Bangladesh Time and touch down in the country at around 11:00pm, which allows him three days to prepare for his final Test match.
However, it a BCB source infirmed that Shakib was asked to wait for further communication before boarding the flight.
Following such uncertainties, a source from Dubai told the Bangaldesh Post that Shakib cancelled his flight from Dubai and almost managed all arrangement to be returning to the USA instead.
So, the former World number one allronder in all formats of cricket Shakib had to cancel his flight to Dhaka on Wednesday night. A Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) source revealed following a virtual meeting held by board directors on Thursday.
A BCB director, who just echoed the explanation of BCB president Faruque Ahmed on Shakib’s returning home, expressed to media few days back, said, “Following the meeting (Thursday’s) we can ensure safety inside the stadium premises. The BCB is not able to provide security outside of it as that needs to come from the government.”
The director also mentioned that Shakib would not be returning to the country.
Sporadic protests were observed in Mirpur and other areas of the capital on Wednesday following reports that Shakib was on his way back to the country for his final Test. Shakib had announced his retirement from Test cricket on 26 September, just a day before the second Test against India in Kanpur earlier this month. During that press conference, Shakib expressed his desire to bid farewell to Test cricket at home, in Mirpur, during Bangladesh's series against South Africa. He played in both Tests against India, a series in which Bangladesh suffered a 2-0 defeat.
Shakib, a former member of parliament for the Awami League government that was ousted on 5 August following student-led protests, is accused of involvement in a murder case. He has expressed concerns about his safety upon returning to Bangladesh and hopes for a secure exit once the match concludes.
