Bangladesh’s star all-rounder, Shakib Al Hasan, recently shed light on a disagreement with fellow national team cricketer, Tamim Iqbal. Shakib emphasized that public statements made by Bangladesh Cricket Board President (BCB), Nazmul Hasan, had significantly strained his relationship with Tamim Iqbal.
The BCB president disclosed in an interview with Cricbuzz that two senior players within the national team were experiencing a rift and were not engaging in communication with each other. This revelation about the veteran cricketers has sparked widespread discussion within Bangladeshi cricket circles over the past year.
Shakib Al Hasan says Came To Focus After Papon Bhai Spoken About It
In a documentary broadcasted on Bongo, a prominent OTT platform in Bangladesh, Shakib Al Hasan addressed the speculation surrounding his connection with Tamim Iqbal. Shakib highlighted the increased scrutiny on their relationship following public comments made by Nazmul Hasan.
“This thing [the relationship between Tamim and Shakib] came to focus after Papon [Nazmul Hasan] Bhai spoke about it and it created a lot of problem on the relationship and created this situation. I think some people had the intention to keep it [the rift] in focus and tried to make it as the main point [of discussion] rather than the cricketing side,” Shakib said, as quoted by Cricbuzz.
Tamim Iqbal’s presence in Bangladesh’s squad has been sporadic due to a back injury, which prevented him from participating in both the Asia Cup 2023 and the ODI World Cup 2023 squads. Earlier this year, Tamim asserted in a Facebook video that his absence from these events was more a result of tensions with BCB officials rather than fitness concerns.
Shakib Al Hasan said Changed Due To Our Busy Schedules
Shakib Al Hasan noted that while they hadn’t entirely drifted apart, their bond had weakened gradually over time as their personal commitments and hectic schedules took precedence.
“For quite some time we were not talking a lot. [But] it is not right that we were not on talking terms. The thing is, there was a time when we used to be together all the time but that relationship was not there for quite some time.”
“It is very natural… I got married and he got married, we were staying separately in different places and so there was very lesser time between us. We were staying in the same building in different floors [earlier] so certainly that closeness starts to diminish as people start having separate family life and over time (the relationship) changed due to our busy schedules,” Shakib added.
The 37-year-old cricketer clarified that despite their personal differences, their professional rapport remained intact. The left-arm spinner emphasized that they effectively communicated on the field as required, indicating that extensive off-field discussions were unnecessary.
Currently participating in the T20 World Cup 2024 for Bangladesh, Shakib has encountered a challenging run of form. The left-handed batsman has managed to score only 11 runs in two innings, resulting in a disappointing average of 5.50 and a strike rate of 61.11. Additionally, Shakib has struggled to make an impact with the ball, remaining wicketless in the initial two matches with an economy rate of 9.
