Cricket’s Shakib, an Hasina ally, will face trial in Bangladesh if secure

Bangladeshi cricket great Shakib Al ⁠Hasan, an ally of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh ⁠Hasina, says he is ready to return from a two-year exile, face trial on charges that include murder, and play a farewell series if the government guarantees his safety.

Shakib, a former politician for Hasina’s Awami League, has been living in the United States since her government was toppled in a deadly student-led uprising in August 2024.

Now 39, ⁠the player has not yet retired from international cricket and said he still hopes to play a farewell series at home and represent his country at the 2027 Cricket World Cup, a one-day international tournament.

The former Bangladeshi captain’s case highlights the wider fallout from Hasina’s ouster, which has left dozens of her allies facing criminal charges and unable to return to Bangladesh.

His return would test whether Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s government will accommodate figures from ⁠the former governing party — an open question as Hasina herself has announced plans to go back in December despite having been given a death sentence there.

“If I get the clearance from the government that my security will be ensured, I am happy to go back, face the court trial and everything that’s needed to be done,” Shakib told the Reuters news agency by phone from Sri Lanka, where he is playing franchise cricket.

“I know I haven’t done anything,” he said, giving the most detailed account yet of his two years abroad. Hasina, who has been living in India, was sentenced to death in absentia over the crackdown on the Bangladesh protests that killed about 1,400 ‌people, according to the United Nations.

She has told Reuters that she and other Awami League leaders plan to return to Bangladesh voluntarily in December. Shakib said he wanted to go home immediately, but failing that would try to return alongside her.