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TIMELINE LEADING UP TO SHAKIB’S LAST WORLD CUP DANCE
AUGUST 11
Shakib Al Hasan is named captain of the Bangladesh team for the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and Pakistan and the World Cup in India.
SEPTEMBER 10
During the underwhelming Asia Cup campaign, Shakib tells the media that he wants World Cup bound players to be rested in that month’s home series against New Zealand.
SEPTEMBER 16
Bangladesh squad for the home series against New Zealand is announced. Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah Riyad return, Shakib is rested.
SEPTEMBER 25
At midnight, Shakib and coach Chandika Hathurusingha meet with BCB president Nazmul Hassan at his residence in the capital. Rumours start swirling that both captain and coach don’t want an ‘unfit’ Tamim in the World Cup squad.
SEPTEMBER 26
The Bangladesh World Cup squad is announced with Shakib as captain. Tamim is left out.
SEPTEMBER 27
A pre-recorded interview of Shakib airs on a local sports channel, where he slams Tamim for not being a team player and calls him ‘childish’. The all-rounder also said he was reluctant to captain the team for this World Cup.
SEPTEMBER 28
The second part of Shakib’s interview airs, where he revealed his plans to quit international cricket after the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, indirectly declaring that the 2023 World Cup will be his last one.
SEPTEMBER 29
Shakib reportedly injures his foot while playing football in the warmup. The all-rounder then doesn’t take part in the Bangladesh team’s practice matches ahead of the tournament as a precaution.
OCTOBER 7
Shakib leads Bangladesh in their opening match of the tournament against Afghanistan, which the Tigers win by six wickets. Shakib takes three wickets with the ball and makes 14 runs with the bat.
OCTOBER 10
England thrash Bangladesh by 137 runs in Dharamshala. Shakib takes one wicket and scores just one run.
OCTOBER 13
Kiwis crush Bangladesh by eight wickets, Shakib suffers a quad injury.
OCTOBER 14
The board doesn’t reveal Shakib’s MRI report, says the all-rounder will remain under observation.
OCTOBER 19
Shakib arrives at the ground with the team, fully geared up, but is not named in the XI. In his place, Najmul Hossain Shanto captains the team against India, a match the Tigers lost by seven wickets.
OCTOBER 24
Shakib returns against South Africa in Mumbai as the team suffers a 149-run defeat, their fourth straight loss.
OCTOBER 25
Shakib doesn’t travel with the team to Kolkata. Instead, he flies back to Dhaka to work on his batting under the supervision of coach Najmul Abedin Fahim in Mirpur.
OCTOBER 26
Shakib trains in Mirpur for the second day, and receives jeers from the fans as he leaves in his car. He joins the team in Kolkata that night.
OCTOBER 28
His batting sessions didn’t pay any dividends as he could make only five in Bangladesh’s 87-run defeat to associates the Netherlands. Shakib faces the media in the post-match press conference for the first time in the tournament, accepting that pre-tournament shenanigans likely played a role in the poor performances.
OCTOBER 31
Shakib makes 43 with the bat in a scrappy innings, but the team lose comprehensively by seven wickets against Pakistan in Kolkata.
NOVEMBER 6
Shakib becomes the first captain in the history of international cricket to enforce a timed-out dismissal, sending back Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews in Delhi. Shakib also returns to form with the bat, hitting a scintillating 82 off 65 balls in a player-of-the-match performance, helping the Tigers end a six-match losing streak.
NOVEMBER 7, 2023
BCB informs that Shakib fractured his index finger while batting against Sri Lanka and has been ruled out from the match against Australia, effectively ending his foray in World Cups.