Shakib Al Hasan announces retirement from T20Is, plans to retire from Tests against South Africa

Kanpur: Bangladesh’s senior all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has announced his retirement from T20Is while also expressing his desire to retire from Test cricket at the end of the home series against South Africa in Mirpur next month.

The 37-year-old all-rounder made the announcement on Thursday, ahead of his team’s second Test against India at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur.

“This is the right time to bring in new players. It’s the same vision for T20Is as well. I have spoken to the chief selector and the BCB president and we all felt that this was the right time to move on and allow new players to come up the ranks,” Shakib told reporters.

Shakib, who has been a constant presence in every T20 World Cup since the inaugural edition in 2007, bid farewell to the shortest format of the game, after featuring in 129 T20I matches, amassing 2,551 runs at a strike rate of 121.18. In the bowling front, he has 149 wickets to his name.

The all-rounder revealed that while he hopes to play his final Test match in front of a home crowd at the iconic Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka, security concerns might prevent him from fulfilling that wish.

“I have expressed my desire to play my last Test in Mirpur, if that won’t happen, the second Test against India would be my last. Going back to Bangladesh is not a concern, but leaving Bangladesh once I go there is dangerous,” Shakib said.

In case Shakib is unable to feature in Mirpur Test next month, the second and final game of the ongoing series against India, starting in Kanpur on Friday, could be his last game for Bangladesh in the longer format.

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