Bangladesh veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has decided to stay back in South Africa for the third and final ODI of the series. Shakib reversed his decision to leave South Africa midway as several members of his family including children are in hospital.
Bangladesh's team director revealed that Shakib informed about his decision on March 21. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had agreed to his request and had booked a ticket for him to return.
"A number of his family members are sick so he is in hesitation. He is speaking to his family about whether he needs to return to Dhaka. We have had to book a few tickets for him in the last few days. We booked a ticket today as well, because he was supposed to leave today,” Mahmud told ESPNCricinfo
"But Shakib turned it down himself. He will return after playing [the third ODI]. Definitely, he was supposed to return home, which Jalal (Yunus, chairman of the BCB's cricket operations committee) bhai said earlier in the day. But shortly afterwards, Shakib decided that he will leave after playing (the third ODI)," he added.
Bangladesh have a shot at history on March 23 at SuperSport Park Centurion. The visitors will have a chance to win their first-ever ODI series on South African soil.
In the first ODI at the same venue, Bangladesh stunned the hosts as they beat them by a comfortable margin of 38 runs. Shakib was adjudged 'player of the match' for his performance with the bat.
The 34-year-old scored a 64-ball 77 at no.3 which helped lay a foundation for big score. As a result, Bangladesh scored 314/7 after Tema Bavuma asked them to bat first. The 315-run target turned out to be too much for South Africa to chase down.
However, in the second game, Bangladesh suffered a batting collapse as Kagiso Rabada rushed through the top order with the new ball. Bangladesh suffered a massive loss in the second ODI in Johannesburg as hosts chased down the below par target with ease.
