'I am officially not retired from all formats' - Shakib reverses Test and T20I retirement

Former Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan has reversed his retirement from Tests and T20Is, and has said that he wishes to play all three formats. Shakib has not played international cricket in over a year and had announced his retirement from Tests and T20Is last year.

"I am officially not retired from all formats," Shakib said on the Beard Before Wicket podcast, which features Moeen Ali, on Sunday. "This is the first time I'll be revealing that. My plan is to go back to Bangladesh, play one full series of ODI, Test, and T20, and retire.

"I mean, [I can] retire from all formats in a series. So it can start from T20I, ODI and Test, or Test, ODI, T20I. Either way, I'm fine, but I want to play a whole series and retire. That's what I want."

Shakib hasn't returned to Bangladesh since May 2024, once the Awami League government was dethroned on August 5. Shakib was an MP for that party. He was named in an FIR in an alleged murder case, although he was not in the country at the time. He then went on to play Tests in Pakistan and India. The second Test against India in Kanpur was his last international game.

When asked whether he will return to Bangladesh, Shakib said, "I am hopeful. That's why I'm playing [T20 leagues]. I think it will happen."

Shakib further said that he will not be burdened by results and he wants to "give something back to the fans" for years of support in a home series.

"I think when a player says something, they try to stick to their words," he said. "They normally don't change it all of a sudden. It doesn't matter if I play well or not. I might play a bad series after that, if I want to play. But I don't need to do that.

"I think this is enough. It's just a nicer way to say bye to the fans that they supported me always, give something back to them, playing a home series."

Ahead of the Kanpur Test in September last year, Shakib announced he wasn't going to play T20Is anymore, while expressing his desire to play his last Test in the home South Africa series that was scheduled for October.

There were some protests and clashes around the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka ahead of the Test series, after which Shakib issued an apology for his silence during the students-led protest which led to hundreds of deaths in July and August.

The BCB then dropped Shakib for the Tests against South Africa, mainly because Bangladesh's interim government couldn't guarantee his safe exit from the country.

Earlier this year, a BCB official said that Shakib was welcome to return to the Bangladesh team. In September, Bangladesh's sports adviser Asif Mahmud declared that Shakib would not be allowed to play for the country after Shakib wished former prime minister Sheikh Hasina on her birthday.

Shakib, who was elected as an MP from his hometown Magura in January 2024, also suggested that he wasn't done with his political career when he was asked what legacy he wants to leave. "[I have] done my cricketing part. Maybe political side is left," he said. "It's something I want to do for the people of Bangladesh and people of Magura. That was my intention, and it is still my intention. Let's see where Allah takes me."