Shakib may skip New Zealand tour

Bangladesh have returned to international cricket after a long hiatus. But now they have a busy schedule coming up their way. Soon after finishing the Windies series, Bangladesh will be flying to New Zealand in early March. 

Unfortunately, they will have to be without their best all-rounder on the tour. Shakib may not travel to New Zealand to stay with his wife during the birth of their third child. An official spokesperson of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) confirmed that Shakib has already verbally informed the BCB not to visit New Zealand.

Tamim Iqbal's side will play their first ODI against the Kiwis on March 13 in Dunedin. The next ODI will be played on March 16 in Christchurch, the nightmare. The third and final ODI of the series will be played on March 20 in Wellington.

The T20 series will start three days later. Bangladesh-New Zealand will meet in the first T20 on March 23 in Napier. The second T20 will be played in Auckland on March 26, the last match will be played in Hamilton on March 26. Bangladesh may have to play all the matches of the tour without the best cricketer of the team.

However, Akram Khan, the chairman of BCB's cricket operations, said that Shakib is likely to visit New Zealand. The former Bangladesh captain said that Shakib has not yet made any written request in this regard.

'We have not received any official letter from Shakib in this regard yet. We will consider the matter if he applies for leave. But we can't say anything about that before that time," said Akram.

Shakib returned to the field with domestic cricket last November after serving his year-long ban. He returned to international cricket with his first ODI against the West Indies.