A bad year for Shakib Al Hasan got worse last Friday when the ECB announced his suspension from bowling in English cricket and by extension all topflight cricket, international and domestic. The veteran all-rounder failed to pass an assessment of his bowling action, which came about after the issue of his action was raised by umpires, following his one-off appearance for Surrey in September.
This ongoing episode, the latest in the melodrama that constantly surrounds Shakib, has raised more questions than answers. Here’s an attempt to disentangle the various threads of this story.
How has this happened now?
There was a sense of incredulity within Bangladesh cricket circles, when news first emerged that Shakib had been suspected of an illegal bowling action, when playing for Surrey at Taunton. This sense was multiplied manyfold when the ECB confirmed that Shakib’s bowling had failed to pass a test, held under approved conditions at Loughborough University, a couple of weeks ago. The surprise stemmed from the fact that despite his many faults, over a long career, the veracity of Shakib’s bowling has never been called into question.
After sending down close to 31,000 balls in international cricket, over a period of 18 years, there have never been any whispers about Shakib’s action. On the face of it, his action has been the most reliable and repeatable thing to ever come out of Bangladesh. Shakib’s bowling has always felt familiar and comforting.
As a finger spinner, he’s never been a big turner of the ball, instead his metronomic accuracy and the ability to subtly change angles and trajectory, have been his modus operandi. He’s not really associated with bowling the doosra, Shakib’s equivalent of the mystery ball is the delivery that barely contains any mystery. It’s the ball that goes straight on, sometimes bowled faster and flatter too.
Is the process flawed?
The umpires at the match in Taunton, David Millns and Steve O’Shaughnessy, both vastly experienced, outlined their suspicions about Shakib’s bowling in their post-match report. They certainly had ample opportunity to study Shakib with ball in hand; he bowled 63.2 overs in the match, the most overs bowled by him for two years. Although he recorded his best match figures for a first-class game, 9 for 193, during his marathon spells there was a problem with his spinning finger. He complained about soreness, whether this had any bearing on his actual bowling is open to conjecture.
In any case, the fact that the first step in the process of reporting an illegal bowling action relies on observation with the naked eye, seems both unsatisfactory and unscientific. It’s also rather unfair on umpires. Presumably it’s the square leg umpire, standing some distance away, who is supposed to assess “if the player’s elbow extends by an amount of more than 15 degrees between their arm reaching the horizontal and the ball being released.”
How much discretion or leeway individual umpires give to bowlers is a huge grey area, as such it’s inconceivable to imagine that Shakib has been the only transgressor in the entire 2024 English season.
And then there’s the actual assessment itself, which takes place at an accredited centre under test conditions. The test is shrouded in mystery. There’s a lack of clarity about how many balls are assessed and what the tolerance levels are – for example if 1 ball out of 100 is deemed to have been delivered illegally, does that automatically result in a suspension?
Shakib’s case is muddied further by the fact that after playing for Surrey, he flew straight to India for a two match Test series where he bowled 35 overs, without incident, across both matches. The only conclusion that could be drawn is that his bowling action had improved to once again be deemed legal, or the judgement of the Test umpires in India wasn’t up to scratch. Shakib has since taken part in T10 competitions in Abu Dhabi and Sri Lanka, but given how beset such leagues are with match fixing, it’s safe to assume adhering to acceptable standards in relation to bowling actions isn’t top of the agenda.
What Next for Shakib?
Regardless of this latest misdemeanor, it’s highly likely that Shakib has already played his last international match. His political ties to the previous Bangladesh government have caused him immense personal and professional harm, since the regime was deposed in the summer. He hasn’t been allowed to return to Bangladesh from his adopted American home and he was denied the opportunity to play what was earmarked as his farewell Test, against South Africa in October, due to protests against his selection.
His participation in the Champions Trophy, a tournament which he has declared will be his last appearance for Bangladesh, also seems miles away. Shakib hasn’t featured in Bangladesh’s last two ODI series and the team appears to have moved on from him. The bowling action debacle should be the final blow for Shakib’s international career, although it would be foolish to believe in any certainties when it comes to Bangladesh cricket.
In the short term, Shakib will be desperate to be re-tested so that he can offer himself as a bowling all-rounder once again, to various franchise teams around the world. His stock has plummeted to such an extent that earning a living from the second tier of franchise competitions, is his new reality.
The BCB’s reaction to all of this has been instructive, it has been neutral and detached in tone. A press release published almost 48 hours after the ECB initially announced the suspension, was largely factual and without overt support for Shakib’s plight. Perhaps the BCB now view Shakib as an irritation, someone who is now very much on the outside looking in.
Arguably Shakib’s legacy has already been tainted by a litany of misconduct throughout his career. However, the fundamental nature of having the legitimacy of your bowling questioned must hurt. And as with others who have experienced something similar, an invisible asterisk will always haunt his career achievements.
