|| CF DESK ||

Shakib Al Hasan has gone to the United States after missing the tour of New Zealand due to a finger injury, at a program there yesterday [Monday], Shakib said that he does not want to play in the foreign franchise league now, he wants to play for the country full time.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) cricket operations committee chairman, Jalal Yunus said the board is happy to learn that the ‘Poster boy’ of Bangladesh is willing to play for the country full-time instead of franchise leagues.

“Obviously [good news]. I saw his statement in the media. It is good news that now he is focusing more on country’s cricket than outside franchise cricket. This is great news for us. We want Shakib to play for our country as many versions as we have here,” Jalal told media in a press meet.

Shakib has not been a regular in the national team for the past few years. This all-rounder is not available in many series due to injury, franchise cricket and personal leave. This time Shakib wants to give full attention to the country's cricket.

In that case, will he continue to captain the three formats? The question has been raised regarding Shakib's words. He said before the World Cup that he wanted to leave the ODI captaincy after the World Cup.

BCB director cleared the air as he confirmed Shakib is still the Tigers’ captain in all formats.

“Reconsideration part does not come here. Still, he is our captain, now we have given Shanto (Najmul Hasan). We told Shanto that there are two series ahead which is the New Zealand series, that's why we gave him the captaincy,”

"Shakib has been captained for a long time. Still he is the captain of all those editions. We assume that he is the captain. Now there is no question whether he will be the captain or not. He knows he is still the captain” added Jalal.