Veteran Bangladesh Cricketer Shakib Al Hasan has made an official political entry and is requesting to be nominated by the ruling Bangladesh Awami League for the upcoming general election on January 7. The majority of the opposition parties are set to boycott the elections.
According to the reports in AFP, Awami League joint secretary general Bahauddin Nasim said that Shakib Al Hasan obtained nomination paperwork from the party on Saturday for the three constituencies in the election.
“He is a celebrity and has great popularity among the country’s youth,” Bahauddin Nasim said.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s parliamentary board for the ruling party must approve Shakib’s candidacy. According to Nasim, Shakib Al Hasan intends to contest in the capital city of Dhaka or in his native district of Magura, which is in the southwest.
In South Asia, where cricket is a huge sport, players have always dabbled in politics but it is uncommon to do so while still a player. However, Mashrafe Mortaza, a former cricket captain, entered politics in 2018 and was chosen to serve as a member of the ruling party’s legislature that same year and captained the national team in the 2019 ODI World Cup.
Shakib Al Hasan will not be playing in the next Test series against New Zealand due to a finger injury. He sustained the injury during a World Cup match against Sri Lanka when he gained unwanted controversy for his appeal against Angelo Mathews, which led to the first-ever timed out in international cricket history.
Shakib was a key player in Bangladesh’s 2019 World Cup campaign in England, where he scored over 600 runs and was among the leading run-scorers of the tournament but failed to make an impact in the ongoing ODI World Cup.
The Bangla Tigers are going through tough times in the ongoing ODI World Cup failing to perform to the expectations of the cricket fans. All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has previously discussed retiring from international cricket one format at a time.
Under Sub-continental conditions, Bangladesh’s World Cup campaign has been a nightmare. The team lost seven games in the marquee event, and their victories have come against opponents from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka but have qualified for the 2025 Champions Trophy.
