Shakib flying back to Bangladesh amid fresh debate over his leave request

Shakib Al Hasan is scheduled to return to Bangladesh from the US early on Tuesday before travelling to India to join the Indian Premier League amid fresh debate over his leave request.

The Tigers ace opted out of the national team’s trip to New Zealand to stay with his wife during the birth of their third child.

However, he was subject to severe criticism when he appealed for an extension of his time off from his national duties during the team’s tour of Sri Lanka to continue his stint with the Kolkata Knight Riders.

The matter took a new turn on Saturday night when Shakib claimed that his leave request was interpreted wrongly by the Bangladesh Cricket Board while speaking in a video interview with the cricket website Cricfrenzy.

The BCB had stated that Shakib was unwilling to play in the Test series in Sri Lanka, but the 33-year-old southpaw said that BCB chief of cricket operations, Akram Khan, had not thoroughly read his application.

Shakib insisted that he was keen on playing in the IPL as part of his preparation for the World Twenty20 scheduled to be held in India in October-November this year.

Bangladesh’s Sri Lanka tour is slated for Apr 12 after the IPL kicks off on Apr 9.

BCB President Nazmul Hassan was critical of Shakib’s leave appeal and said that he was not keen on playing Tests.

But Shakib, who complained about Akram and several other conducts of the board during the interview, went on to thank the BCB boss.

While speaking to the media on Sunday after a meeting with the BCB president, Akram Khan said the board will take a decision about Shakib within a couple of days.When the news of Shakib returning to the country gave rise to intense discussions, Akram told bdnews24.com on Monday that they did not summon Shakib.

“We don’t really have much to discuss officially with Shakib. We may speak casually. But about that interview, the board president earlier said that we'll sit within a day or two to decide what to do about him. We're still in the position.”

Asking not to be named, one of Shakib’s close acquaintances in the cricket arena said that the cricketer was mainly returning to the country to complete some work related to prepare for his cricketing endeavours.

Shakib and his wife Umme Ahmed Shishir had their first son on Mar 15 in the US.