'There was never any doubt': Shakib confirms he will play Tests against SL next month
"If there was an emergency, that would have been different. But for now, I'm committed to playing."
Ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan returned home on Wednesday and confirmed that he will be playing the Test series against Sri Lanka next month. He also mentioned that he were never any doubts regarding his participation in the series after he skipped Tests in the South Africa tour due to a family emergency last month and left the country with his daughter a few weeks ago.
The southpaw will play for Legends of Rupganj in the ongoing Dhaka Premier League (DPL) under the captaincy of Mashrafe Bin Mortaza as a preparation for the Sri Lanka series. He will have the opportunity to play four matches there.
Shakib originally signed for Mohammedan for this DPL, but he is joining Legends of Rupganj for the remaining super league phase as Mohammedan got knocked out from the tournament.
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Shakib said he took the decision to play in DPL within a matter of an hour.
"It was a sudden decision (to play in DPL). I took the decision within an hour. Since I got an opportunity to play, I thought of taking this. And I have the Sri Lanka series coming up next month as well," Shakib told the media at the airport.
"I've had a long gap since the last tour. I haven't played any cricket in the last one month. So I wanted to take this opportunity to regain my game," he added.
When asked about his participation in the upcoming Sri Lanka series, Shakib answered there has been no doubt ever since he took an emergency break last month.
"There never any doubt about it (Shakib playing in Sri Lanka Tests). If there was an emergency, that would have been different. But for now, I'm committed to playing."
A few days earlier, Jalal Yunus said that they are waiting for Shakib's green signal about his availability in the Sri Lanka series. Now that Shakib has confirmed, there shouldn't be any further confusion regarding the matter.
The Sri Lanka cricket team will reach Bangladesh on 8 May to play two Tests. The first Test will begin on 15 May at Chattogram while the second one will take place at Mirpur on 23 May.
