Suspended all-rounder Shakib al Hasan apologized yesterday and appealed to the Bangladesh Cricket Board to reduce a six-month ban slapped on him earlier this month for misbehavior.
Bangladesh’s most prominent cricketer was punished for what the board called a “severe attitude problem” and it also decided not to allow him to play in overseas competitions until the end of next year.
“I admitted that my behavior was not mature. I apologize for this. In future it will not happen again,” said Shakib, who met board chief Nazmul Hassan earlier this week.
“I have always been with cricket and will remain with cricket. I want to play cricket for Bangladesh,” he said.
Shakib was accused of traveling to the West Indies to play in the Caribbean Premier League Twenty20 tournament without clearance from the board and was subsequently ordered to return to Bangladesh.
The 27-year-old, who has played 34 Tests and 136 one-day internationals for Bangladesh, had reportedly threatened to quit playing for Bangladesh and had an altercation with national coach Chandika Hathurusinghe. Shakib has denied the reports.
“The appeal will be resolved at the earliest,” Nizam Uddin Chowdhury, the board’s acting chief executive, told reporters.
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