Bangladesh to give Shakib enough time to decide on retirement: Abdur Razzak

Bangladesh selector and former player Abdur Razzak on Wednesday said the selection committee will give veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan enough time to decide when he wants to call time on his international career.

The 37-year-old Shakib, considered one of the greatest all-rounders to come out of Bangladesh, has struggled for form and fitness of late and didn't make much of an impact during the opening Test against India in Chennai.

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"Someone is waiting to take his place. Definitely, there are some players, but I would say that it is Shakib's call, Razzak told PTI in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the Legends League Cricket here.

 

"Whenever he feels he (has played) enough, we will welcome him. (But there is) nothing much to say (right now), because a player like him, he was (in the) last 15 years (the) No. 1 all-rounder in the world, so I can't say that he is not good anymore so we don't want him," he said.

"We always want him, but at the same time, you have to leave at some stage. So, we are waiting for Shakib's decision (and) I am sure he will take the right decision," Razzak added.

Razzak, who played 13 Tests, 153 ODIs and 34 T20Is for Bangladesh from 2004 till 2014, said there cannot be instant solutions to the void, which will be created by the exit of Shakib and batting mainstay Mushfiqur Rahim.

"Shakib (and) Mushfiq, you can't get players like them instantly. As soon as they leave cricket, you can't get them (replaced) because Shakib took 20 years to reach his place, Mushfiq took similar (number of years)," he said.

"It is very difficult to get similar player instantly, but there are some youngsters, they can do well... like Litton Das can do well, (Najmul Hossain) Shanto is there, and there are so many U-19 boys, they are knocking at the door.

"We are also really excited to see them, there are some good and capable players, but it is very difficult instantly to like replace the two," he said.

"We need to give some young players a bit more time and hope they will cope up very soon," he added.

The Bangladesh selector also warned about the threat posed by the proliferation of shorter format leagues, which have grabbed the attention of the younger generation in his country.

"It is happening all over the world, I know it is not a good thing, because if you find some Test players, they need to be calm, but most of the young boys are like really crazy about T20," he said.

"Because whenever they turn on the TV, there is some T20 game (going on) and most of the games are so exciting and competitive.

"It is very important (and) we need to work on that, we need to encourage some young players to play with the red ball, and if we can manage to make them play all three formats, that would be a great thing for us," he said.

Razzak said Bangladesh would look to put behind the loss in the opening Test against India in Chennai and hoped for a better show in the second Test starting in Kanpur on September 27.

"We didn't play that well against India. But you know, India, in my opinion, is the No 1 Test team at the moment. They have the bowling strength, batting strength and fielding as well," he said.

Recalling his team's historic win against Pakistan recently, Razzak hoped that his side will be able to draw some inspiration from that series.

"(If) we could play a bit more like that, what we have done... we are not looking back, that is past, that is gone, we are looking forward to the next Test match and I would say that (the) Pakistan win will change our cricket, definitely," he said.

Razzak said the focus of the Bangladesh team is to do well in the next two ICC events the Champions Trophy next year and the T20 World Cup in 2026.

"Every team has that target to play well in ICC tournament. Bangladesh also has that plan. We are now focusing on the 2026 T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy next year in February," he said.