Shakib Al Hasan awarded central contract by Bangladesh after missing out in 2020
Shakib Al Hasan has been awarded a central contract by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) for 2021. The all-rounder failed to secure a central contract for himself last year owing to his ban from any cricketing activity, but is back this year as a centrally contracted player. He has been offered an all-format contract by the BCB, alongside four other players.
As reported by ESPNcricinfo, Tamim Iqbal has earned himself a central contract for Tests and ODIs only, while Mahmudullah has sealed a contract deal for T20Is and ODIs with the board.
The news was made public after a meeting among BCB officials on September 1. The duration of this year's contracts offered by the board is from May to December. The board has offered 24 central contracts this year, as opposed to 17 last year.
5 players including Shakib Al Hasan have been offered an all-format contract by the BCB
Shakib Al Hasan isn't the only player to secure an all-format central contract for himself. The BCB has also offered similar contracts to Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das, Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam. Das and Rahim were contracted by the BCB for all formats last year too, but pacers Ahmed and Islam have earned all-format contracts for the first time in their respective careers.
Tamim Iqbal, who pulled out of the T20 World Cup scheduled for later this year, has been ignored for a T20I contract. Mahmudullah, on the other hand, retired from Tests earlier this year and has been contracted as a limited-overs only player.
Full list of BCB's newly contracted players:
All formats: Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Liton Das, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam.
Tests & ODIs: Tamim Iqbal, Mehidy Hasan, Taijul Islam.
ODI & T20Is: Mahmudullah, Mustafizur Rahman, Mohammad Saifuddin, Afif Hossain.
Tests: Mominul Haque, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Abu Jayed, Shadman Islam, Saif Hassan, Ebadat Hossain.
T20Is: Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Naim, Mahedi Hasan, Nurul Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Shamim Hossain.