Legend or Burden: What Shakib Al Hasan Will Leave Behind


Shakib Al Hasan

&NewLine;<p>Shakib Al Hasan is a controversial figure in Bangladesh cricket&period; On the field&comma; a genius&semi; off the field&comma; polarizing&period; His statistics belong to a legend&comma; yet the leadership choices and the off-field drama complicate the legacy a bit&period; Here is what he leaves behind&colon; the numbers&comma; the choices&comma; and the impact&period; Read&comma; think&comma; judge&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">Record-Breaking Achievements<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>No one in Bangladesh cricket has had the exact numbers as Shakib in all formats&period; He is the only player to have been number one in the ICC rankings in all three formats as an all-rounder at the same time&period; His steadfastness and impact are what made him a household name in fantasy leagues and <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;bangladesh&period;melbet&period;com&sol;en">online betting sites<&sol;a>&comma; where every move and stat is followed&period; Since his ODI debut in 2006&comma; he has become a match-winner against the best in the world after being a utility player&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>His 7000&plus; ODI runs and 300&plus; wickets were not just a collection of stats but were often the difference between victory and a demolition&period; In Tests&comma; he had to shoulder the middle order as well as being the most dependable spinner in the country&period; Shakib did not play to make records&semi; he played so that Bangladesh would not be forgotten&period;<a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;images&period;unsplash&period;com&sol;photo-1581412037192-c197ef399462&quest;q&equals;80&amp&semi;w&equals;1170&amp&semi;auto&equals;format&amp&semi;fit&equals;crop&amp&semi;ixlib&equals;rb-4&period;1&period;0&amp&semi;ixid&equals;M3wxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8fA&percnt;3D&percnt;3D"><&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">Leadership and Captaincy<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Shakib has been a controversial figure during his tenure as captain&comma; and that is not an exaggeration&period; There are a couple of essential characteristics of his captaincy&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<ul class&equals;"wp-block-list">&NewLine;<li>Straight talking instead of tact&colon; Players could hear what he thought&comma; and this was usually unsweetened&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li>A brilliant cricketing brain&colon; He could outsmart more senior captains by bowling different variations and field placements&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li>Emotional instability&colon; He could not conceal his frustration&comma; and this would reflect negatively on younger colleagues&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li>Forced commitment&colon; At other times&comma; he was made to take the position after a complex BCB negotiation&comma; not necessarily willingly&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Nevertheless&comma; during his reign&comma; Bangladesh put up some of its most competitive performances&period;&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">Off-Field Controversies<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>All his brilliance on the field notwithstanding&comma; Shakib has had his career marred by off-field problems more than once&period; The pressure was also brought about by his name&comma; which is usually trending in the <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;bangladesh&period;melbet&period;com&sol;en&sol;line&sol;cricket">cricket betting<&sol;a> topics&comma; and fans were keen on every step taken on and off the field&period; His off-field decisions frequently took away the headlines of cricket and put his priorities under review&period; Not all of them were easy to defend&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h3 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">ICC Suspension and Conduct Issues<&sol;h3>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>The 2019 ICC suspension was more painful than most fans would agree&period; This was not a match-fixing scandal&comma; but the silence itself got him a 12-month suspension&period; Bangladesh lost their best player in one year&comma; just as he was in his best form&comma; right after the World Cup&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>His comeback was not without a new controversy&period; His behavior was crossing the line&comma; not once&comma; but many times&comma; from kicking stumps in a Dhaka Premier League match to confronting umpires&period; Regardless&comma; the fines and bans accumulated&comma; and they never benefited the team&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-large"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;backstageviral&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2025&sol;09&sol;image-32-1024x591&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-23266"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;images&period;unsplash&period;com&sol;photo-1540747913346-19e32dc3e97e&quest;q&equals;80&amp&semi;w&equals;1305&amp&semi;auto&equals;format&amp&semi;fit&equals;crop&amp&semi;ixlib&equals;rb-4&period;1&period;0&amp&semi;ixid&equals;M3wxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8fA&percnt;3D&percnt;3D"><&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h3 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">Business Ventures and Political Ties<&sol;h3>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>As he was still playing&comma; Shakib entered the business world&comma; opening restaurants&comma; establishing a gold dealership&comma; and investing in ventures bearing his name&period; That is not out of the ordinary&comma; but when it happened&comma; it was usually frowned upon&period;&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Then there was politics&period; In 2023&comma; Shakib toyed with joining parliament and was an active backer of the ruling party&comma; blending sport and state&period; In a hyper-partisan world&comma; inaction is also a polarizing move&comma; and Shakib chose sides&period; His appearances with politicians on the streets were headlines&comma; and not always the right ones&period; To many&comma; it tarnished the concept of him as a sporting icon&comma; pure and simple&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">Impact on Future Generations<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Shakib not only transformed the way Bangladesh played&comma; but he also transformed what the young players thought was possible&period; Becoming world-class used to be a dream for him&period; It was a target after him&period; All-rounders now seek a balance in bat and ball&comma; since he demonstrated that both of these could achieve a top level simultaneously&period; His technique is currently being used as teaching material in local academies&comma; although his temperament is sometimes unsteady&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>However&comma; skill is not the only factor of influence&period; Shakib demonstrated that there was fame in Bangladesh cricket&comma; which could be global&comma; commercial&comma; and political&comma; all at the same time&period; Whether this is good or bad is still under debate&period;&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">Legacy Beyond Stats<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>One cannot measure Shakib in terms of wickets or runs&period; He made Bangladesh enter into global cricket discourses at times of excellence and at times of mayhem&period; He established new boundaries and broke many lines&period; The question is not whether he will be remembered&period; It is the version of him that every generation prefers to install&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

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