The merry-go-round featuring Shakib Al Hasan and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) came to a stop yesterday as the star all-rounder confirmed his availability for the upcoming tour of South Africa. The 34-year-old added that any decisions regarding resting players would be taken by the BCB and that he would travel to South Africa tonight.

The drama over Shakib's availability for the South Africa tour has created a lot of fuss over the past few days. The premier all-rounder stated before leaving for Dubai on March 6 to fulfill a commercial commitment that he was not mentally nor physically fit to play cricket. But by that time, the board had already included Shakib for both the ODI and Test series in South Africa.

The next day Hassan raised questions about Shakib's sincerity, asking the media whether the left-hander would have done the same thing if it was ahead of the Indian Premier League instead.

After a meeting, the BCB decided to grant Shakib a break for two months from all forms of cricket till April 30. Upon his return from Dubai on March 10, Shakib spoke to the BCB boss and, after another meeting at the home of cricket in Mirpur, the star cricketer eventually changed his mind.

"I spoke to [BCB president Nazmul Hassan] Papon bhai over the past few days and we managed to make a plan for the whole year. Since I am a part of all three formats [in the latest central contract list], I will always be available for all three formats. The board will decide when it is necessary to rest me and that goes for the South Africa series as well. So I am available for the South Africa series," Shakib said after the meeting at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.

On the other hand, Hassan stated that the cricketer was mentally disturbed, which is why he had problems with his decision-making. He also asked the media to stop speculating about possible reasons when a player asks to rest or is left out of the team.

"If someone does not play a series or two, there is no reason to speculate. The board might even decide to drop players and try someone new. I would like to ask you to take this sportingly. It's part of the game and happens all over the world."

"Since Shakib has told us that he is feeling mentally disturbed, we should be giving him our support. All the talk shows and discussions speculating about it are not good in that context. We have to stand beside someone when they are suffering mentally or physically. Do not speculate because that causes more problems," Hassan told the media.

Bangladesh will play the first of three ODIs against South Africa on March 18 in Centurion. The second and third ODIs are scheduled for March 20 and 23 in Johannesburg and Centurion respectively. The first Test will begin on March 30 in Durban while the second and final Test will start on April 7 in Port Elizabeth.