Legal notice seeks Shakib’s removal from national team

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) was served a legal notice seeking for immediate removal of ace allrounder and former MP Shakib Al Hasan from the National cricket team as he named as an accused in a murder case.

Supreme Court lawyer Barrister Shajib Mahmood Alam has sent the legal notice to BCB on Saturday.

The legal notice demands that Shakib, facing a criminal case, should not be allowed to continue representing Bangladesh under the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) regulations.

On Thursday, a murder case was filed against cricketer Shakib Al Hasan. Rafiqul Islam, the father of the deceased Rubel, filed the case with Adabor police station in Dhaka.

Shakib’s name surfaced as the 28th accused in the case, which includes former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, alleges Shakib’s involvement in the directive that led to the death of a garment worker named Rubel. The case has also named BCB president Nazmul Hassan Papon, film actor Ferdous Ahmed, former ICT minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak, and Barrister Syed Sayedul Haque Suman among others.

The case statement reads, Rubel was part of the student protest on August 5 at Ring Road in Adabor. During the protest, a conspiracy was allegedly hatched, leading to Rubel being shot. He succumbed to his injuries on August 7.

Shakib, who was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Magura-1 constituency, won by a landslide in the last election. However, like many other ruling party figures, he became a target of public anger following the AL-led government’s fall.

Currently, Shakib is in Rawalpindi, participating in the first Test against Pakistan, and has not returned to Bangladesh since the political unrest began.

Despite the case and the legal notice, the BCB has yet to take an official stance on Shakib’s status with the national team.