Shakib reflects on his career trajectory and future goals

Since last year's ODI World Cup, the allrounder has been facing questions about his thoughts on his retirement

Bangladesh’s ace cricketer Shakib Al Hasan has been in a fix about his future plan. After several changes of mind, he has finally said he is not thinking long-term. The 37-year-old all-rounder now has his sights set solely on the upcoming Pakistan tour next month.

Since last year's ODI World Cup, the southpaw has been frequently facing questions about his thoughts on retirement.. Before leading the team in that tournament, he had said in an interview with T Sports that he would retire from T20 Internationals after the 2024 World Cup and from international cricket after the 2025 Champions Trophy.

Shakib had a change of heart before heading to the T20 World Cup in the US and West Indies. He then said in an interview on BCB's digital platform ‘The Green Red Story’ that he wants to see himself playing in the 2026 T20 World Cup that will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

The all-rounder again had to answer questions about his future during the recently concluded T20 World Cup.

"When the time comes, everyone will know," he explained, referring to his shift in perspective.

Shakib stayed for a few days in the country after the recent World Cup campaign. And now he is busy preparing for the Major League Cricket tournament in the US. He was scheduled to leave on Tuesday to play for the Los Angeles Knight Riders in the tournament starting next Saturday.

"I still don't have any specific plans for myself. For now, my plan is to play two T20 tournaments. One is the MLC, for which I am leaving now. Then there is the Global T20 in Canada. Let’s see what my condition is after playing these two consecutive tournaments," said Shakib.

The MLC will end on Jul 29 and before that the Global T20 in Canada is supposed to kick off from Jul 25. Shakib has signed with the Bangla Tigers Mississauga franchise in that tournament. Rishad Hossain, Shariful Islam and Mohammad Saifuddin have also secured teams in the Canadian league as well as Shakib.

The cricketers have got permission to play in the coming foreign leagues until Aug 11. Then Bangladesh is supposed to travel to Pakistan in the third week of August to play two Test matches as part of ICC’s future tour schedule. The series will be played under ICC’s World Test Championship tournament.

For now, Shakib has decided to play in the Pakistan tour. He has plans to proceed on a small-term basis.

“I haven’t planned much for now. I need to understand my own condition. I don’t have time to make plans for a three to four-year term. I think it's better to plan for three to six months. For now, I have plans until the Pakistan series," said Shakib.