Shakib has 'a very good chance' of playing his final Test at home

Shakib Al Hasan wants to retire from Tests cricket after playing against South Africa at home. For this, the experienced all-rounder spoke about needing security assurances to return home. Talks over security have raised uncertainty over his retirement from within the country, but that appears to have abated. Faruque Ahmed said that there is a good possibility of Shakib's retirement from his home soil.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President spoke with the media after the Board of Directors meeting on Monday evening. Regarding Shakib's Test retirement from the country, he said, "I have been in touch with Shakib. Shakib has a very good chance of retiring from Bangladesh." Shakib, who is currently busy playing in the National League T-Ten in the United States, announced his retirement from Tests and T20s in a press conference before the Pune Test on India's tour.

After announcing the end of his T20I career, Shakib expressed his desire to play his career's final Test against South Africa in Mirpur. The two-match Test series will start on 21 October. He mentioned the security assurances needed to play his farewell Test. On the same day, BCB president Farooq Ahmed said that they would not take responsibility for Shakib's security and that BCB could not afford to provide security to anyone alone.

A few days later, Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan, Youth and Sports Advisor of the Interim Government spoke about the matter. He said, that being a member of the parliament of the former fascist government, the matter of asking for security assurance for Shakib over the anger among the general public is not possible. According to the sports advisor, while it is possible to provide security to cricketer Shakib, it is "not possible" to provide that assurance if there is public anger. However, after a few days, Asif Mahmud changed his statement and said that Shakib would be given maximum security in the country.

Shakib entered politics while playing. He became a Member of Parliament from the Magura-1 constituency as a nominated candidate of the Awami League in January. After the fall of the Sheikh Hasin-led government last August, Shakib was accused in a murder case. This is basically the main obstacle for him to return to the country, for this reason, the country's best-ever cricketer wants security assurance. Shakib also sought assurances about returning home safely and leaving the country smoothly.

BCB President's tone has also changed regarding Shakib's security. "I can't talk about the legal procedure. I am just a board president. My point is, the matter of Shakib must come completely from the level of the government," Faraque Ahmed said on Monday.

"I have said before, there are law and order forces, there are advisers, there are chief advisers, they will decide to take overall responsibility. As much as we have the power... like inside the stadium, he will go indoors, play in the field, and go to the practice field, it is very easy for me to take these responsibilities. We can take it," he added.

Shakib has been out of the country for a long time. The most decorated all-rounder in the country's history left for the United States within two days of playing the T20 World Cup and played Major League Cricket (MLC). Later, he played in the Global T20 in Canada as the captain of the Bengal Tigers Mississauga. After that, he played in the Test series in Pakistan. After this series, Shakib joined the Bangladesh team in India, playing one match for Surrey in the County Championship in England. And finally, he went to the USA after playing in the Test series.