Bangladesh (Commonwealth) _ Shakib Al Hasan, the captain of Bangladesh cricket team, has been selected by the ruling Awami League to run for parliament from the Magura-1 constituency. This means that he would embark on a new career in politics. He will run in his home district in the nation’s 12th legislative elections, which are set to take place on January 7.
A legislative body of the ruling party led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina approved Shakib’s candidacy. Obaidul Quader, the general secretary of the Awami League, announced the news on Sunday during a press briefing.
Shakib leaves Narail and follows Mashrafe Mortaza, the former captain of Bangladesh who was elected as an MP in the last elections. This year, Mashrafe received the nomination once more. Nazmul Hassan, the head of the BCB, has been an MP since 2009, along from Shakib and Mashrafe.
According to BAL joint secretary general Bahauddin Nasim, Shakib received nomination forms from the party on Saturday in order to run in three constituencies. Major opposition parties have decided to boycott the vote.
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The cricket all-rounder was greeted by Nasim, who stated, “He is a celebrity and has great popularity among the country’s youth.” According to Nasim, he intends to run for office in the capital city of Dhaka or in his native district of Magura, which is in the southwest.
Over the course of the last 15 years, Hasina, the leader of this about 170 million-person South Asian nation, has come under fire for allegedly abusing her power. If the opposition boycott proceeds, it is considered nearly probable that she will come back to power a fourth time.
Though Western countries have expressed concern about democratic backsliding, Hasina has presided over excellent economic development. The opposition has charged her of manipulating the last two votes.
In South Asia, where cricket is a huge sport, players have always dabbled in politics. That being said, it is uncommon to do so while still a player. Due to a finger injury, Shakib, the usual skipper of Bangladesh in all three formats, will not be playing in the next Test series against New Zealand.
He sustained the injury during a World Cup play against Sri Lanka, when he gained notoriety following a peculiar and contentious appeal against Angelo Mathews, which led to the first-ever timed-out dismissal in international cricket and left many players and fans embarrassed over his cricket morality.
Most people agree that Sakib Al-Hassan is the best Bangladeshi cricket player of all time and one of the best all-around players ever.
In 2007, Shakib Al Hasan played his first test match against India. His breakthrough came in the 2008 Test match at Chittagong against New Zealand, when he took seven wickets for thirty-six runs, the highest figures by a Bangladeshi bowler at the time. In the format, he has amassed over 4,000 runs and claimed over 200 wickets. In 2016, he led the squad to their historic victory over England in a Test match. Shakib has been the fastest player in history to reach the double of 5,000 runs and 250 wickets in One-Day Internationals (ODIs) after amassing over 6,000 runs and taking over 270 wickets in the format. He broke the previous record for most runs scored in the world cup’s group stages—held by Sachin Tendulkar—and finished as the third-highest run scorer of the competition with 606 total runs. He is regarded as one of the most influential players of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup.
Shakib played his first T-20 match against Zimbabwe in 2006. He has represented several teams in international T20 competitions. With 16 victories across all forms, he ranks third among all man-of-the-series award winners with 41 victories. He captained the Bangladesh cricket team in 85 matches in all three forms between 2009 and 2022.
