Sports Live: Bangladesh ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan thanked his fans to stay beside him for the last 14 years, which was full of brilliance albeit with ups and downs.

Shakib made an International debut on August 6, 2006 against Zimbabwe. The performance was not eye-catching but he took little time to establish him as the mainstay of Bangladesh. Over the years, he broke records after records and created milestones one after another to establish him one of the main global stars.

“These last 14 years have been surreal. A journey I embarked on which led me to be the person I am proud to be today,” he wrote in his verified facebook page.

“The more the obstacles, the greater my resilience. I am optimistic and excited to see what’s in store for the years to come. I owe so much gratitude to those who supported me and lifted me in my career in International Cricket. None of this would’ve been possible without you. Thank you,” he further wrote acknowledging the fans’ contribution in his journey.

Shakib now has been serving the ban imposed by the International Cricket Council for his failure to report the corrupt approaches from the bookies. He was suspended for two years with one year of that suspended, meaning he would officially come back to cricket on October 29 this year.

The premier all-rounder however is all set to return to the practice pit in September as he wants to make his return to the competitive cricket smooth one.

A member of Shakib’s family said the star all-rounder will return to Dhaka from the USA in the last week of August.

Since Bangladesh is planning to tour in Sri Lanka in October-November, there is a chance that Shakib may get some matches though it is not yet decided whether he could be part of the team right after his ban ends.

Whatever it is the all-rounder has planned to keep him in touch by some grueling and systematic practice session, like the way he did ahead of the 2019 World Cup. The systematic practice paid rich dividends as he ended up with some stunning records in the cricket’s biggest extravaganza.

“Shakib decided to come to the BKSP next month. He will have coaches and trainers available here,” former national game development manager Nazmul Abdeen Fahim, who is now the advisor of BKSP told the reporters.

“We are functional here as the coaches are all residing within the campus, so we can work with him well. Shakib will have everything at his disposal.”

So far Shakib has scored 3862 runs and taken 210 wickets in 56 Tests, in 206 ODIs he made 6323 runs along with 260 wickets and hammered 1567 runs and snapped up 92 wickets in 76 T20 Internationals.

Dhaka, 10 August (campuslive24.com)//MI