Shakib Al Hasan in action© AFP
Cricket fans around the world were left utterly shocked when former Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan was accused in a murder case. The case was reportedly filed by Rafiqul Islam whose son Rubel was killed on August 7 amid the ongoing protests in Bangladesh. The case, which was filed with the Adabor police station in Dhaka, named Shakib as the 28th accused while former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was also included in the list, which consisted of 154 names.
Shakib is currently in Rawalpindi, playing the first Test of a 2-match series against Pakistan. However, Rafiqul Islam's lawyers have demanded the immediate removal of Shakib from the ongoing series.
Reportedly, a legal notice has been sent to the Bangladesh Cricket Board, where the lawyers have asked the board to ban Shakib from all forms of cricket. BCB president Faruque Ahmed stated that a decision regarding Shakib will be made after the end of the first Test.
"Let me say about Shakib. A case has been lodged. We are yet to get any legal notice. FIR (first information letter) was given in the case and later there will be an investigation and following that, the case will move in one direction or the other," Faruque told reporters.
"Look, now we are playing a Test match and it is very good news that we have played well on the fourth day. Tomorrow is the fifth day, the deciding day of the Test and I think at this point, we haven't thought about taking a stance. After tomorrow, once the game is over, we will sit and take a decision. By this time, we will also be able to say something about the legal notice as we will have received it by that time," he added.
Faruque Ahmed further stated that during the gap between the end of the first Test and the beginning of the second Test on August 30, BCB will come to a decision.
"Look, the FIR is just the first information letter and they are yet to claim any charge as far as I know, so before that, it is difficult to take a decision. The relationship between BCB and Shakib Al Hasan is like a player and an employer according to the contract. After tomorrow, we can think exactly after getting the legal notice and based on that. I cannot withdraw him from the middle of the Test match," he said.
"The second Test match is from August 30, so there is a gap between the games. During this period, we can think about what can be done in this regard," he added.