SA vs BAN | Shakib Al Hasan leaves tour due to family reasons

Star all rounder Shakib Al Hasan will be leaving for Bangladesh on Monday evening after several members of his family were hospitalised back home, reported ESPNcricinfo on Monday, 21 March.

Hasan, who was not to play the South Africa tour chose to join the team later on after a much publicised drama with the Bangladesh Cricket Board. However, it seems like his tour has been cut short due to unfortunate circumstances. Details about the scenario are still emerging, but without a doubt, this will be a huge blow for Bangladesh who were set up for a deciding clash for the final ODI of the series.

According to media reports coming out of Bangladesh, Shakib's second daughter Eyzah Al Hasan and his his eldest son Errum are admitted to the hospital due to pneumonia. Shakib's mother Shirin Reza is currently in the hospital as well due to a heart infection. BCB officials told Cricbuzz that they have been in constant touch with Shakib and are in full support of the left-handers decision.

It needs to be noted that, before leaving for the series, board president Nazmul Hasan Papon had stated that there are no certainties as to Shakib playing all matches in the series, as the player had asked for a mental and physical health break.

Shakib Al Hasan played a pivotal part in the historic win for Bangladesh in the South African soil, scoring a brilliant 77 off 64 balls. South Africa were left stunned by that batting effort and eventually went on to lose the game by 38 runs. However, the hosts hit back strongly in the second ODI game, first choking Bangla Tigers to just 194/9, before returning to chase it down with seven wickets in hand.

More to follow…