Shakib Al Hasan says he will return home to face trial if safety assured, but Bangladesh rule out cricket comeback.

Bangladesh have said former star cricketer Shakib Al Hasan had no prospect of returning to play after he joined a media event with ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, a convicted fugitive.

Shakib joined the event by telephone in New Delhi on Wednesday, where Hasina addressed journalists, two years after she was forced from power following a deadly crackdown on student-led protests.

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Bangladesh Minister for Youth and Sports Aminul Haque said the government had previously taken a more open approach towards Shakib, who was a politician for Hasina’s former ruling Awami League party.

Shakib, who is currently in Sri Lanka, was among dozens facing murder investigations for a deadly police crackdown on protesters that toppled Hasina’s government.

“We had been looking at the matter with considerable flexibility and tolerance. After this, I do not think there is any room to think that way anymore,” Haque said in a statement.

“Someone who has taken the stage with the autocrat no longer has any opportunity to return.”

Shakib, 39, is Bangladesh’s most successful cricketer and one of the country’s best-known sporting figures. He has played more than 400 international matches and represented Bangladesh at five World Cups.

Rights groups have long accused Hasina’s former administration of abuses including the murder of rivals, suppression of opposition parties, rigged courts and one-sided elections.

A court in Dhaka found Hasina guilty in absentia in November 2025 of crimes against humanity and sentenced her to be hanged. She remains in hiding in India.

All-rounder Shakib announced his retirement plans in September 2024 after his team’s second Test in India but later said he would play a full series before calling it quits.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board said in January he could play again, but his involvement in the event in India on Wednesday caused anger, with Shakib saying his house had been petrol-bombed as a result.

On Thursday, Shakib said he was prepared to return to Bangladesh from his exile in Sri Lanka to face trial on charges including murder. He also said he hoped to play for his country again at the 2027 Cricket World Cup, having led the team at the last edition in 2023.