Zakir Hossain from Dhaka
Former Bangladesh cricket captain Shakib Al Hasan no longer has an opportunity to return home through the “normal” process because of his political position and his latest appearance alongside ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, Youth and Sports State Minister Aminul Haque has said.
The minister indicated that any return by the former all-rounder would now have to take place through the legal process.
“We were looking at the matter very flexibly and with a lot of tolerance. After this, I don’t think there is any scope to think about it in that way anymore,” Aminul said.
His remarks came after Shakib virtually joined Sheikh Hasina’s August 5 press conference in New Delhi, held on the second anniversary of the fall of her government. Shakib appeared alongside Hasina, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and senior Awami League figures during the event. Shakib, who was elected to parliament on an Awami League ticket in January 2024, has remained outside Bangladesh since the political upheaval that removed Hasina from power later that year.
The appearance immediately renewed controversy around Shakib’s political association with the Awami League. Hours after the event, his ancestral home in Magura was also targeted in a petrol-bomb attack, according to reports.
Aminul said the government had earlier treated Shakib’s case with flexibility because of his standing as one of Bangladesh’s most celebrated cricketers, but that position had now changed.
“Someone who has appeared on the stage of an autocrat does not seem to have any opportunity to come back,” he said.
“As a player, that was how we were looking at it, and we were being flexible. Now there is no opportunity. If he comes, he will have to come through the legal process.”
Shakib’s political role has complicated his possible return to Bangladesh since the change of government in 2024. The former captain had entered active politics as an Awami League candidate and won the Magura-1 parliamentary seat shortly before Hasina’s government was ousted.
His participation in the August 5 event has now further hardened the government’s position, with the sports ministry making clear that any prospective homecoming would no longer be considered solely from the standpoint of his cricketing career.