National all-rounder Shakib al Hasan has appealed to reconsider his punishment and also offered a public apology while handing over the letter to acting CEO of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), Nizamuddin Chowdhury, at the Sher-e-Bangla National stadium yesterday.
The star cricketer was suspended on July 7 for his “serious misbehaviour” with Bangladesh’s new head coach Chandika Hathurusingha besides clashing with a spectator during the first ODI against India at Mirpur last month.
Nizamuddin confirmed that he had received the letter and informed that he will forward it to the board but was unwilling to make any comments.
The awaiting journalists were not given the chance to ask any questions as Shakib read out a handwritten statement which he prepared himself.
“Shakib al Hasan has submitted a prayer to reconsider the July 7 sanction made by the board of directors. Since this is a board decision, they will decide on it,” said Nizamuddin.
Shakib was involved in a few controversies and the most recent one was when he went to take part in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Twenty20 without a valid no-objection certificate and later reportedly threatened to quit from Tests and T20 internationals.
On his way to the Caribbean, Shakib suddenly returned from England as the BCB asked the 27-year old cricketer to join the ongoing training camp and it was later revealed that he had an argument with Hathurusingha. The Sri Lankan coach reported it to the board and the troubled star was subsequently punished.
However, Shakib did have a meeting with the head coach and chairman of the BCB Cricket Operations Committee, Akram Khan, before he handed over his appeal letter to the interim CEO. It was learned that both Shakib and Hathurusingha sought out the issues and were looking forward to curving out a practice schedule for the cricketer.