One of the most experienced players of Bangladesh and world cricket, Shakib Al Hasan feels that the rift between him and another former star batter of the team- Tamim Iqbal widened after the comments of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hasan.
Nazmul gave an interview to Cricbuzz, towards the start of last year, when he admitted that the two senior players of the team- Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal are not engaging, as the relationship between these two experienced players became one of the major talking points of the country’s cricket.
‘This is not a healthy dressing room; this I can guarantee you. This thing (rift between Shakib and Tamim), it’s not that I have not tried to sort it out.’ The BCB boss said in an old interview. ‘I have spoken with both of them and I felt that it is not easy to settle the issues (between them) at the moment. This is my observation.’
He also assured that these things won’t affect their games in the middle, and both would work for the development of Bangladesh cricket.
‘I think some people had the intention to keep the rift in focus’- Shakib Al Hasan
In a recent interview in a documentary aired by Bongo, the leading OTT platform of the country, Shakib Al Hasan decided to clear the air after deciding not to share his point of view, while Tamim mentioned that their situation won’t have any effect on the team.
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‘This thing (The relationship between Tamim and Shakib) came to focus after Papon [Nazmul Hasan] Bhai spoke about it and it created a lot of problem on the relationship and created this situation.’ The former Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan noted in the documentary. ‘I think some people had the intention to keep it [the rift] in focus and tried to make it as the main point [of discussion] rather than the cricketing side.’
He informed me that the phase ‘not on talking terms’ wasn’t right at all, as they used to share time for a long time, but later the situation changed, as there was less time between them. The left-hander also spoke out on how even after staying in the same building, they didn’t use to talk much because of their busy schedules and family time.
‘For quite some time we were not talking a lot. (However) it is not right that we were not on talking terms. The thing is, there was a time when we used to be together all the time but that relationship was not there for quite some time.’ The veteran shed light. ‘We were staying in the same building in different floors [earlier] so certainly that closeness starts to diminish as people start having separate family life and over time, (It) changed due to our busy schedules.’
Shakib Al Hasan elaborated on how they used to talk on the field and share the dressing room, and there was no such incident between them that would harm the team’s environment.
The ace-all-rounder also clarified how he didn’t want to send Tamim any message before last year’s ODI World Cup in India, while his words were actually for the fans of the country before the tournament, where the left-handed opening batter missed out.
‘I did not try to give any message through that interview as it was certainly spontaneous and I felt that before going to the World Cup I should clear everything so that people know what actually happened and why this kind of situation is created.’ Shakib Al Hasan narrated.
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The 37-year-old also talked out how his two-year ban, out of which one year was suspended, where he failed to report multiple approaches by the bookie, shocked him after being handed the ban.
‘Regret as far as the punishment is concerned I feel I could have informed them, there were lot of options but it was kind of a joke.’ Shakib Al Hasan concluded. ‘It was a lesson for me that you should not take all the things in life as a joke.’
The Jessore-born is playing in the T20 World Cup 2024 currently, where they will face Netherlands on June 13, at the Arnos Vale Ground in Kingstown, St Vincent.