Bangladesh cricketers rally round murder accused teammate Shakib Al Hasan
Al Jazeera
Bangladesh captain Shanto says the murder case filed in Dhaka against former lawmaker Shakib is ‘unexpected’.
Bangladesh’s cricketers have rallied round teammate Shakib Al Hasan, the ousted lawmaker who faces a case of murder connected to unrest that toppled the government earlier this month.
Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said his team’s maiden Test win against Pakistan on Sunday, in which all-rounder Shakib took three wickets in the second innings, was a tribute to the hundreds killed during protests that forced former premier Sheikh Hasina from power.
Bangladesh endured weeks of student-led protests that resulted in Hasina fleeing to India by helicopter on August 5, ending 15 years of rule.
Shakib, 37, who lost his job as a lawmaker for Hasina’s Awami League party when parliament was dissolved, is “a big asset of our country”, said Shanto in a post on Facebook late Monday.
“He’s been raising the name of Bangladesh in the world for 17 long years,” Shanto said.
