Bangladeshi cricketer Shakib Al Hasan is set to begin a new career in politics. He will contest the country’s 12th parliamentary elections in January, as a candidate of the the ruling Awami League from his home district in the Magura-1 constituency, almost 175 km from Dhaka.
Earlier, Awami League joint secretary general Bahauddin Nasim had highlighted the huge popularity of Shakib among the younger generation in Bangladesh. “He is a celebrity and has great popularity among the country’s youth,” Nasim had said.
Meanwhile, the country’s opposition parties, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), decided to boycott parliamentary elections demanding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to step aside and make way for a neutral caretaker government to conduct the polls. She has been the Prime Minister of the country since January 2009. Hasina is often accused of suppressing the voice of her rivals in the opposition political parties.
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Mix of cricket and politics in Bangladesh
Shakib has followed in the footsteps of former star cricketer Mashrafe Mortaza who was elected an MP during the previous elections. The current president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board(BCB) has been an MP since 2009. The director of BCB, Shafiul Alam Chowdhury is also contesting elections.
Shakib’s recent appearance in ODI World Cup
In the recently concluded ODI World Cup in India, Shakib led the Bangladesh cricket team as its captain. However, the Bangladesh team couldn’t live up to the expectations of their fans as they failed to qualify for the semi-finals. In the group stages, Bangladesh played nine matches but managed to win only two of them.
During the World Cup, Shakib sustained a finger injury due to which he is expected to miss the upcoming Test series against New Zealand.
