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Shakib Al Hasan suspended for six months by BCB

Shakib Al Hasan has been suspended by the BCB from all cricket for six months and will not be granted an NOC to play in overseas competitions until the end of 2015

Mohammad Isam
Mohammad Isam
07-Jul-2014
Shakib Al Hasan has been punished severely by the BCB  •  BCB

Shakib Al Hasan has been punished severely by the BCB  •  BCB

Shakib Al Hasan has been suspended by the BCB from all cricket for six months and will not be granted an NOC to play in overseas competitions until the end of 2015. The punishment was handed out because of Shakib's "serious misbehaviour" with Bangladesh's new coach Chandika Hathurusingha, and for his altercation with a spectator during the recent first ODI against India in Mirpur.
"He has a severe attitude problem, which is unprecedented in the history of Bangladesh cricket. We think that his behaviour is such that it's directly impacting the team," BCB president Nazmul Hassan told reporters. He said the decision to suspend Shakib, which was taken at a board of directors meeting on Monday, had been unanimous.
"What is perhaps more alarming is that other players have started to behave like him [Shakib]," Hasan said. "If this continues, our future will be destroyed. So that's why we believe he deserves a strict punishment. Our board has unanimously decided to ban him from competitive cricket for the next six months, both national and international cricket. Also till December 31, 2015, he won't receive any NOCs for foreign tournaments and his current NOCs have been withdrawn."
Shakib has been involved in several disputes in the recent past. He had left for the Caribbean to play in the CPL without a valid NOC, and reportedly threatened to quit playing Tests and Twenty20 internationals when asked by Hathurusingha to return and join a training camp. He was ordered to return to Bangladesh by the board, and later denied threatening to quit and said that his departure for the CPL was a result of a misunderstanding over the NOC.
The BCB's decision to suspend Shakib is ...
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Hasan, however, said the NOC issue was the tip of the iceberg. Without going into details, he said the board had learned of several incidents building up over the last few years, which he termed as "cruel". One such example was the assault on the spectator who had allegedly harassed his wife during the first ODI against India in Mirpur.
"This morning he [Shakib] met me. He thought he had the NOC but when he later realised he didn't have it, he thought he would receive it in London," Hasan said. "He admitted that he misbehaved with the coach. He apologised for the misbehavior. We want to give a clear message: if it is repeated, he might be banned for life. There will be no compromise when it comes to discipline. Some of the allegations were so inhuman, we were in awe, as to how a player can commit these crimes.
"Let me give you an example and you will understand the severity of the problem. In the dressing room there was an incident. Our security team who brought that boy reported that Shakib had hit him. Shakib even told the manager and team-mates that he hit him. But when we called him for the hearing, he said that he didn't hit him. Then, when he was asked as to why he left the dressing room, he said he didn't know the rules. The board believes that this attitude of his won't work here."
Hasan had earlier criticised Shakib for setting a bad example, referring to the CPL incident. He also said Shakib had shown a disregard for protocol by leaving the dressing room during the first ODI against India and getting involved in a altercation with a spectator, who had allegedly harassed Shakib's wife.
The confirmed international fixtures for Bangladesh for the rest of 2014 is a tour of West Indies in August and September comprising three ODIs, a T20I and two Tests, and Zimbabwe visiting in October or November for Tests and ODIs. Shakib, however, won't be eligible to play domestic cricket either during this time, and will be allowed to return to action only a little over a month before the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84