Bangladesh cricket skipper Shakib Al Hasan is one of the team’s talented and most controversial figures. He has had his fair share of controversies throughout a career spanning over a decade in top-flight competitions.
His sudden outbursts, fits of rage, and other misconducts have not had any significant effect on his career so far. However, the cricketer admits he has had a complicated history of misconducts on and off the pitch:
“You have to be honest,” Al Hasan said. “You just can’t lie to the people and pretend different things. Whatever happened has happened. People are bound to make mistakes. You are not 100%. The important thing is how well you can come back from those mistakes. You can tell other people not to make those mistakes. Tell them the path so that they never take those paths” he added.
2010 – Threatening to Bat a Grounds Staff
Shakib Al Hasan once threatened to hit a grounds staff with his cricket bat vs New Zealand in 2010. The cricketer noticed disturbances around the ground’s sightscreen and waved for people to leave that area. A particular individual refused to leave, and Shakib signalled he would hit the man if he didn’t move.
Fans wouldn’t remember much of that event, as Al Hasan went on to smash a match-winning century in the encounter.
2011 – Middle Finger to Bangladesh Fans
Fans were furious over Al Hasan’s performance at the 2011 World Cup match vs West Indies. He responded to stones at the team bus and boos during games with a middle finger.
2014 – Crotch-Grabbing vs Sri Lanka on Live Television
Bangladesh was not performing well on the pitch vs Sri Lanka in a 2014 ODI. Newsmen singled out Shakib’s performance, alleging that the cricketer wasted his wicket with cameras panning on him the whole time.
Shakib responded to the constant camera action by grabbing his upper groin area on live TV. He would serve a 3-match ban and receive a BDT300,000 fine after this incident.
2014 – Threatened retirement, by SMS
Shakib didn’t fancy the tactics of the-then Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha and threatened to retire through an SMS. He was suspended for his outbursts and would be out of Bangladesh’s team for 3½ months after that incident.
2019 – Shakib Bags an ICC Ban
Al Hasan would also get in the ICC crosshairs after failing to report match-fixing approaches from a sports bookmaker. The International Cricket Council (ICC) handed Bangladesh’s star man a 2-year suspension for his failure to report these approaches. All three approaches occurred during an international tri-series and at the 2018 IPL season.
His suspension had a cooling period that allowed Shakib return to international cricket from October 30, 2020.
Shakib Al Hasan Talks About His Long List of Controversies
Al Hasan is no stranger to controversy and made comments concerning his drama-filled cricket career during a recent interview:
“It [multiple controversies] could have happened to someone else and I would have learned from him, but it happened to me so other people can learn from me. I wanted to be honest from the first day. I didn’t hide anything from the guys when they were asking me questions. I will say the straightforward things. I made mistakes. It shouldn’t happen for a player like me. I apologised for it, and I want to move forward, I want everyone to learn from it and never make these mistakes.” Shakib said.
Potential reasons for his repeat misconducts as a player
The Bangladesh skipper also commented on likely reasons why he has had a rollercoaster of encounters with misconducts as a player:
“I think [it is] combination of both [him being controversial and a controversy magnet]. I got the responsibility so early in my career, I was bound to make mistakes. I was captain when I was 21. I made a lot of mistakes, and there are so many things that people think about me. Now I realise that it was my fault in some areas, and in some I was misunderstood. But I get it completely. It is part and parcel in the subcontinent.” Al Hasan added.
Going forward
The cricket maestro hopes to chart a new course as he enters another phase in his long career:
“Of course I will try to minimise [mistakes] as much as I can, but by the time I got married, and now I have two kids, I understand the game and life better. It has made me a calmer person than I was in my twenties. I have changed quite a lot. People won’t see me doing a lot of mistakes now. My two daughters changed my life completely.” Shakib concluded.
