Shakib Al Hasan has written a letter to Bangladesh Cricket Board requesting paternity leave during the tour of New Zealand. The number one ODI all-rounder wants leave to be with his wife for the birth of their third child.
Chairman of BCB cricket operations Akram Khan has recieved Shakib Al Hasan’s letter. He said, “We have received a letter from him to grant leave during the tour of New Zealand as he wants to be with his wife (in the USA). We are yet to take a decision in this regard.”
Bangladesh’s team is scheduled to tour New Zealand from March 22. Bangladesh will be playing New Zealand in two limited-overs series that will consist three One Day Internationals and three T20 Internationals.
After serving a one-year ban for failing to report corruption approaches to ICC or his board, Shakib returned to international cricket earlier this month. ICC had banned the all-rounder from all forms of cricket for two years. One year of the punishment was suspended after he accepted three charges of breaching the ICC Anti-Corruption Code.
Currently, Shakib is recovering from a thigh injury that he sustained during the opening Test against West Indies, and the injury has already ruled him out of the second game. Earlier this month, he suffered a groin niggle during the third ODI against West Indies, but he recovered quickly to join the team for first test match.
Bangladesh will be counting on Shakib for the tour in March as they have never beaten the Kiwis on their patch. In the last tour of New Zealand, he played an instrumental role with both bat and ball. In 2016, the all-rounder became the first cricketer from Bangladesh to score a double century against Kiwis.