Division One leaders Surrey have signed legendary Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan for a single County Championship match, their top of the table clash against Somerset that begins tomorrow (September 9) at Taunton.
From a purely cricketing perspective, the signing of Shakib is a major coup. The 37-year-old left-hander is widely regarded as Bangladesh’s greatest ever cricketer, and given Surrey’s current availability crisis, his presence on the field at Taunton where spin played a significant role in the venue’s previous fixture, is a welcome shot in the arm for Surrey in their bid to win a third consecutive County Championship title.
Surrey’s fixture against second placed Somerset falls in a round that sees players named in either England’s Test or T20I squads as unavailable for selection. Ollie Pope, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson are all involved in the ongoing Oval Test against Sri Lanka, while Will Jacks, Sam Curran, Jamie Overton and Reece Topley have all been picked in the England T20I squad for their series against Australia that begins on Wednesday.
The timing of Shakib’s signing is interesting, however. The former Bangladesh captain was recently named in a murder case involving the recent Bangladesh students’ protests that led to nation’s prime minister Sheikh Hasina resigning in dramatic circumstances.
Shakib, who prior to the protests was a sitting MP, was one of 147 people who had charges filed against them in connection with the death of a protestor.
The all-rounder was in Canada playing in the Global T20 at the time of the protests.
Shakib has continued to play cricket since the charge was filed, playing in both of Bangladesh’s wins on their recent tour of Pakistan.
BCB president Faruque Ahmed confirmed that Shakib will continue to play for Bangladesh as the legal process runs its course. In a recent interview, Ahmed said: "He [Shakib] will continue playing. We received a legal notice regarding bringing him back and we replied them saying this [that he will continue to play]."
Ahmed added: "Right now the FIR [first information report] is filed and it is in the initial stage and there are lot of steps after this and until he is proven guilty we will make him play. The Bangladesh team will go to India after the Pakistan series and we want him in that series as well. He is our contracted player and if necessary we will give him legal assistance."Surrey’s statement announcing the signing of Shakib made no mention of the charges currently filed against him.
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