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Published : 03 May 2026, 11:46 AM
For Shakib Al Hasan, politics appears to be the next innings after cricket. And in that innings, he says, there is only one team he wants to play for: the Awami League.
The former Bangladesh captain and ex-Awami League MP says he has no intention of changing allegiances, even though the party’s political activities are now banned in Bangladesh.
Shakib was elected to parliament from Magura-1 on an Awami League ticket in the January 2024 election. But his time as an MP was cut short when the Sheikh Hasina-led government was toppled on Aug 5 that year.
He was in the United States with his family at the time and has not been able to return home since.
Speaking to bdnews24.com by phone from Mumbai, where he had travelled for a franchise cricket event, Shakib said his political future remained tied to the Awami League.
“That is how it should be, isn’t it? Committed to the Awami League?” he said.
“I have no interest in changing parties so often, no desire to do so, and never had any. I have never done that. Even if I had joined a small party, I would always have remained loyal to that party. I don’t have the habit of switching sides.”
Shakib said he believed the ban on Awami League politics would not last forever.
“It is banned now, but does that mean it will remain banned for life? Can anyone keep anyone banned forever? This is people’s democratic right,” he said.
“You cannot suppress a large section of the country. Yes, it may be possible to hold them back by force for some time, or suppress them for as long as possible. But I do not think this brings any progress for the country or any good for politics.”
Asked whether the Awami League itself had not tried to suppress opposition parties in the past, Shakib said one side had to begin the process of ending that cycle.
“If we made that mistake — I do not know what the party’s thinking was in politics 10, 15 or 20 years ago — but if we made such a mistake, then that mistake is being repeated now as well,” he said.
“If another party later comes to power, or if we return and repeat it, then this game will simply continue. Someone has to end these things.”
Shakib said whichever party ended such practices would benefit politically.
“They will be able to set an example and win a place in people’s hearts. This is what genuinely politically conscious people want.
“Everyone will have an opportunity, everyone will take the field and fight fairly with their policies. Everything will happen through the democratic process, and people will vote for whoever they like.”
