Absent from international cricket, 38-year-old Shakib Al Hasan's unbeaten 58 & 4 for 13 runs leads Dubai Capitals to 22-run win over Kiwi franchise team

A 38-year-old Shakib Al Hasan has been absent from international cricket for a long time. His bowling action's legality was questioned in County cricket and with problems back home, Shakib has already quit T20I cricket. On the night Bangladesh lost to Sri Lanka by seven wickets in first T20I of the series, Shakib's all-round show helped reigning ILT20 Champions win by 22 runs against New Zealand's Super Smash T20 franchise Central Districts.

Shakib's fifty takes Dubai Capitals post challenging total

Put to bat first, Dubai Capitals struggled in the powerplay overs. While Sediqullah Atal increased the scoring rate, he lacked support at the other end. Walking in to bat at no.5, the former Bangladesh captain kept Dubai Capitals in the game. Wwickets fell at the other end but Shakib continued to play the anchor knock. He accelerated in the slog overs and reached his fifty in the final over of the innings. His unbeaten 37-ball 58 helped Dubai Capitals post 165/7 at Providence Stadium, Guyana.

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Shakib's economical four-fer raids Central Districts

In the run chase, Will Young and Dane Cleaver got Central Districts off to a good start. Skipper Gulbadin Naib introduced Shakib in the fifth over. He delivered with wickets of Young and Dean Foxcroft. After a double-wicket maiden, he was taken off the attack. In the 11th over, the left-arm spinner returned to knock over Josh Clarkson. The required run rate kept climbing. In the 17th over, he broke the fifth-wicket partnership between Tom Bruce and William Clark. Shakib knocked over Clark for a 19-ball 20. He finished with four wickets for 13 runs in his quota of four overs. Central Districts could not get close to the target and managed to post 143/8. They lost the match by 22 runs.

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Shakib's long absence

This was Shakib's first appearance in professional cricket after nearly a month and a half. He quit T20Is last year but wants to play his last Test on Bangladesh soil. A few weeks ago, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) director Iftekhar Rehman had said that the door is always open for Shakib. However, there is no clarity whether the all-rounder will be seen representing Bangladesh again.