BANGLADESH cricket great Shakib Al Hasan has said he is ready to return home from a two-year exile, face criminal charges including murder, and play a farewell international series if the government guarantees his safety.
Shakib, 39, a former Bangladesh captain and Awami League lawmaker under ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, has been living in the United States since her government was removed during the student-led uprising in August 2024.
Speaking to Reuters by phone from Sri Lanka, where he is playing franchise cricket, Shakib said he wanted to return immediately if he received security assurances.
"If I get the clearance from the government that my security will be ensured, I am happy to go back, face the court trial and everything that's needed to be done," he said. "I know I haven't done anything."
Shakib has not announced his retirement from international cricket and said he still hopes to play a farewell series in Bangladesh before targeting the 2027 one-day World Cup.
"I am feeling good, still enjoying the game, playing well also," he said. "But ... age is not on my side at this moment, so I cannot wait for too long."
He said that if he cannot return immediately, he would try to go back alongside Hasina, who has said she plans to return to Bangladesh in December despite being sentenced to death in absentia over the deadly crackdown on the 2024 protests.
"Whatever the captain says, we follow her," Shakib said.
Government insists he must face the courts
Shakib said he had written through a lawyer to the home, law and sports ministries under the previous interim administration, as well as to the police, asking for what he described as fabricated cases against him to be dropped, but received no reply. He also said he wanted to speak with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman about returning.
Rahman's press secretary, A.A.M. Saleh, said Shakib was facing the consequences of serving in Hasina's government and must follow the legal process.
"The domestic laws of Bangladesh apply equally to everyone," Saleh said in a statement. "In the eyes of the law, Shakib Al Hasan is an accused person, and he must surrender before the courts of Bangladesh to face the judicial process."
Shakib said he had twice tried to return to Bangladesh. In late 2024, he boarded a flight after receiving assurances from the interim government that security would be provided, but said he was told during the journey to turn back. He landed in Dubai before returning to New York, where he lives with his wife and three children.
"I don't know what changed in 12 hours," he said.
A later attempt also failed after he posted a birthday message for Hasina on social media. Authorities cited the post as the reason for refusing his return, he said.
Shakib also defended appearing virtually alongside Hasina at a news conference in New Delhi this week, after which his unoccupied home in Bangladesh was attacked. He said he had simply called for peace and the country's progress.
Murder and corruption cases
Shakib said two cases remain active against him — one linked to the alleged killing of a protester during the 2024 uprising and another filed by anti-corruption authorities.
He described the murder allegation as "a laughable case", saying it was filed on a day when he was playing a match in Toronto. He added that he has not yet appointed a defence lawyer.
Shakib also said his bank accounts had been frozen for about 18 months while investigations continue. He declined to identify the banks or disclose the amount involved.
The all-rounder said the past two years had been especially difficult because he has been unable to see his parents, who remain in Bangladesh.
"It's been difficult for all of us, but we are surviving," he said.
(Reuters)
