Bangladesh’s veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has opened up on the suspension he faced from the England Cricket Board (ECB) over suspected bowling action. Shakib’s bowling action was found illegal when he was representing Surrey in County Championship last year. A year after the incident, Shakib revealed that he did it a bit intentionally as he was tired of bowling longer than he had ever before. He hoped the umpire would’ve warned him about it.
"I think I was doing it a little bit intentionally because I bowled more than 70 overs [in one match], I never bowled 70 overs in my career in a Test match. I was playing that four-day match for Surrey against Somerset in Taunton. I was so tired. I played back-to-back Test matches in Pakistan. We won that series and then I went to play those four-day matches. The only thing I was thinking the umpire could have done was just warn me first, at least. But it is in the rules, so they had the right. I didn't complain," said Shakib on the Beard Before Wicket podcast which features Moeen Ali.
Shakib failed the initial test only to clear it later after training for a couple of weeks.
"I went to do the test, I failed. And then I saw my test. I was like, 'okay, so these things are happening'. Then I had to train for a couple of weeks so I went back to Surrey again and they were kind enough to help me. I did two sessions and I was back to normal. I was like, 'it's so easy'," he added.
Shakib’s U-turn on retirement
Shakib has also taken a U-turn on his retirement in T20Is and Tests. Banned from representing Bangladesh on international stage, he wishes to play an all-format series in front of his homecrowd before hanging his boots.
Shakib to play in the IPL 2026?
The 38-year-old is currently playing in franchise leagues across the globe. He is representing MI Emirates in the ILT20 2025. He has registered for the IPL 2026 mini-auction at a base price of Rs 1 crore which may help him find a franchise. The last time he played IPL was in 2021. He was part of KKR's two title-winning squads. He has represented Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in 2018 and 2019 seasons.