When will BCB clarify stance on Shakib?

Just as the ICC Champions Trophy is facing uncertainty due to the dispute between the cricket boards of India and Pakistan, there remains an ambiguity over Shakib Al Hasan's participation in the event – something the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has failed to clear up thus far.

Yesterday, during the logo unveiling event of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2024-25, board president Faruque Ahmed was asked by the media about the BCB's stance on Shakib.

Faruque relayed that the all-rounder is still in the plans for the Champions Trophy, saying, "Right now, he [Shakib] is still in the list. We hope that the issues get solved in the way he wants. Definitely, he still possesses the capability to play for the national team," suggesting Shakib may be looking for certain assurances.

But almost in the same breath, the BCB honcho pointed to Shakib's lack of preparation to play for the Tigers and revealed that they have left the decision up to the player.

"Playing for a franchise and playing for the country is not the same thing. You need preparation and also you really need to gel with the team. Since he can't do those things, I don't think he is in a mental state to play for the country. Because of that, we have left this thing up to him."

Leaving things up to the player was something the former BCB president Nazmul Hassan Papon often did and it almost never worked in favour of the team.

Under Papon, Shakib's availability would be a talking point ahead of every other series. It did not help the team's cause since the board's policy to leave things to players' whims hampered the team's continuity.

The BCB selectors too have not made any clear statements regarding Shakib's availability although whether the matter is truly in their hands remains under suspicion.

Shakib's availability had been put into doubt ever since the fall of the Awami League government, of which he was a part as a member of the parliament.

The all-rounder's wish to retire from Tests with the Mirpur Test against South Africa in October remained unfulfilled as he was advised not to come to the country by sports adviser Asif Mahmud via the BCB due to security concerns.

However, such concerns are not holding him back from playing away series, like he did in the Test series in Pakistan in August and then in India in September.

Shakib's recent performances too have not exactly been excellent. Captaining the Bangla Tigers in a T10 tournament in Abu Dhabi, he bagged five wickets and scored 63 runs as his team crashed out of the tournament.

In the BCB's last board meeting, the discussion of the incumbent members centered on the need for Shakib in the national team. But with a big tournament like the Champions Trophy coming up, the BCB are yet to come to a decision relating to the outstanding situation at hand.

The board thus far has not outright said they want to move ahead without Shakib nor have they said they want him in the Champions Trophy next year and ensured his participation in last month's ODI series against Afghanistan in the UAE or in the upcoming ODIs in West Indies, both key series in the buildup to the event.

This lack of decisiveness from the board could rear its ugly head in the tournament and cause yet another forgettable ICC event for the Tigers.