Shakib being Shakib: Is the Fortune Barishal captain above the rules?

There can be no doubt that Shakib Al Hasan is the greatest and most accomplished cricketer that Bangladesh has ever produced. 

But his acts off the field have stirred controversy and his latest incident, where he missed the captains' photo with the trophy ahead of the BPL final to film a TV commercial, has added more fuel to the fire. 

Fortune Barishal's team manager Sabbir Khan told the media that Shakib missed the photo because he had an upset stomach.

But vice-captain Nurul Hasan Sohan, who took part in the photo session instead of Shakib suggested he was at the gym. 

While questions were raised whether Shakib exited the bio-secure bubble, the BPL is instead applying a more relaxed Managed Event Environment.

In this case, Shakib has to show a Covid negative certificate to gain re-entry into the BPL's bio-bubble. 

Is this sending his team the right message? 

Imagine being the captain of your team and prioritising a TV advert shoot ahead of an all-important final.

Does that send the right message to the rest of the team that the captain is taking the game seriously at all?

More importantly, what message does it send the younger players in the team when they see their captain and most decorated player skipping the official photo session for a TV commercial? 

This is not the first time that Shakib has skipped an official photo session. 

He did not take part in the photo session ahead of the 2019 World Cup as he went to take part in a TV commercial at that time as well. 

These things can never have a good impact on the rest of the team even though Shakib has been in stellar form with bat and ball and is in line to be the player of the tournament. 

Is he taking advantage of a broken system? 

It can be argued that Shakib would not be doing such things if the management or authority of the BPL was stronger and stricter. 

The BPL this season has been no stranger to controversy either with there being speculation of spot-fixing in certain matches.

Chattogram Challengers had its share of controversies when Mehidy Hasan Miraz was stripped off his captaincy and Naeem Islam was made captain.

Naeem was also then replaced by Afif Hossain as the captain and Miraz made it clear that he had issues with the team's COO Yasir Ali. 

Sylhet Sunrisers also had their share of controversies as their captain Ravi Bopara was charged with alleged ball-tampering.

Also, in recent seasons, the BPL's prize money and the money of the player of the tournament has also decreased. 

The BPL's production has also taken a hit this time with no DRS for umpires. 

Overall, the country's premier T20 tournament, one which has been touted by the BCB as the 2nd best T20 franchise tournament, has gone backwards in many ways. 

As a result of all these things, it could just be a case of Shakib not taking the tournament seriously enough or showing it proper respect and importance. 

A series of misdemeanours 

As we alluded to earlier, Shakib and controversies go together like peanut butter and jelly. 

In 2014 in an ODI against Sri Lanka, Shakib was given a three-match ban and a three lakh taka fine for making an indecent gesture towards his crotch when the camera focussed on him. 

Later that year, the BCB suspended him from all forms of cricket for six months after he left to play in the Caribbean Premier League without taking permission from the board. 

In the 2015 edition of the BPL, Shakib copped a fine of USD 250 and a one-match ban for giving umpire Tanvir Ahmed an earful after the umpire denied his LBW appeal. 

In 2019, he was handed a two-year ban by the ICC for failing to report multiple approaches from a bookie, which was reduced to a year one he accepted the offence and passed the year without any other such incident. 

And last year, Shakib was once again seen taking his frustrations out when the umpire denied his LBW appeal, this time kicking the stumps in anger. 

These are just some of the notable ones among many others where Shakib has broken the law and been punished. 

What is clear from all this is that Shakib is setting a dangerous precedent for future generations. 

It will be no shock if younger players in this and the next generation follow the things that Shakib is doing.

It's up to the ones in charge of managing Bangladesh's cricket to make sure they learn from these and get their players in order.

Only then will players like Shakib be forced to follow the law and act like they're above it.