Shakib Al Hasan will not be available for the upcoming tour of New Zealand having been granted leave by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), the board confirmed on Monday (December 6).“Certainly (his leave is granted) and what I wanted to say is that everyone should inform us regarding their availability beforehand considering that makes our job easier to prepare a replacement. Whoever needs rest or break will be given whether he is an important player or not but his case is different as he neither injured nor he asked for a break. He wanted leave for family commitment,” the BCB President said according to Cricbuzz.
Nazmul Hassan also stated that the board was not embarrassed in this episode at all while repeating that they only heard about Shakib’s leave informally. He also added that the players will have to inform the board about the leave prior officially from January 2022. BCB has decided not to name any replacement for Shakib Al Hasan for New Zealand tour. It is a massive loss though for them as his experience would’ve been valuable. The two-match Test series between Bangladesh and New Zealand will commence on January 1 at the Bay Oval in Tauranga. The second and final Test will be played from January 9 in Christchurch Due to relaxed quarantine in New Zealand, Bangladesh will have the opportunity to play two two-day practice games.
