Shakib, 4 others handed all-format central contracts by BCB

Shakib Al Hasan is among five Bangladesh men's cricketers to be handed central contracts by the BCB for all three formats this year. The decision was taken despite Shakib's unavailability for four Tests so far this year.

Shakib skipped the New Zealand Tests in January citing personal reasons, and created a stir when he said his condition - physical and mental - wasn't allowing him to tour South Africa later this month. The BCB subsequently granted him "rest" from all international cricket matches till April 30. Shakib is one of the five cricketers who have been offered contracts in Tests, one-day internationals and Twenty20s. The other four are Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das, Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam. The all-rounder has been making headlines since Monday when he sprung a request to the board to skip Bangladesh’s South Africa tour just days before the team’s departure. Shakib claimed to be physically and mentally fatigued and unfit to play cricket for the national team. The following day, BCB president Nazmul Hasan criticised Shakib for retracting from his earlier promise of playing in the South Africa series, which begins on March 18. But on Wednesday, the BCB seemingly yielded to Shakib’s wishes once again and announced that they have rested the all-rounder from all forms of cricket till April 30 after Shakib has been picking and choosing his international appearances for Bangladesh in recent years and is self-admittedly unsure about how long he can continue in all three formats.

But that didn’t make any difference in the fresh contract list as the BCB included Shakib in all three formats. Meanwhile, the number of contracted player came down to 21 from last year’s 24. Opener Saif Hasan and pacer Abu Jayed got dropped from the red-ball contract, all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin was axed from white-ball contract while Soumya Sarkar and Shamim Hossain were dropped from the T20 contract. Yasir Ali and Mahmudul Hasan Joy are the new additions and both have been offered a Test contract. Taijul Islam, who was part of the Test and ODI contract last year, has been dropped from the 50-over contract but retained in Tests. The BCB, however, didn’t reveal the salary grade of the players in their announcement.

Players list

Test: Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Tamim Iqbal, Mehidy Hasan, Mominul Haque, Taijul Islam, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Ebadot Hossain, Shadman Islam, Yasir Ali, Mahmudul Hasan Joy

ODI: Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Tamim Iqbal, Mehidy Hasan, Mahmudullah, Mustafizur Rahman, Afif Hossain.

T20: Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mahmudullah, Mustafizur Rahman, Afif Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Mohammad Naim, Mahedi Hasan