Shakib Al Hasan: Cricketer who never played by the rules

Wanting to be Anil Kapoor's 'Nayak' for a day to change everything that's wrong with BPL, sending stumps cartwheeling in disgust with a left-footed pile driver or pushing the envelope of 'Spirit of Cricket' by getting a player 'Timed Out', Shakib Al Hasan was perhaps never in running for winning game's "Mr Congeniality" contest.

But when it comes to cricketing pedigree, his 14,271 international runs with 14 hundreds, 708 wickets and 119 catches across 446 international games in last 17 years, puts him on a pedestal which will be difficult to surpass for Bangladeshi cricketers of coming generations as he gets ready to bid adieu to international cricket.

In 50 overs cricket especially where Bangladesh as a team found its mojo, he was peerless with 7,500 plus runs and 300 plus scalps. For Indian fans of certain vintage, his patient half-century at Port of Spain in the 2007 ODI World Cup hurts as much as Tamim Iqbal's six that hit the top tier concrete of the stadium.

There can't be debate that Shakib is Bangladesh's first true blue world class cricketer and perhaps will remain their greatest ever with some absolutely cracking performances both with his classical and cheeky left-handed batting and hundreds of disciplined overs of left-arm spin that he sent down over the years.

Anyone who has covered Shakib for decent amount of time would know that he is anything but a "people pleaser". He is more in-your-face and carried his weight around and the Bangladeshi cricketing establishments over the years have found it a bit over-bearing.

Shakib's legacy in cricket is undeniable, and it would be a disservice to Bangladesh cricket if the 37-year-old doesn't receive a fitting farewell from Test cricket at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur.

This comes amid a bogus murder charge during the civil unrest when he wasn't even in the country. Since he was a Member of Parliament from Awami League, the protestors took no prisoners while also labelling him as a murderer.

"It has been tough for me. Only Allah knows how I am focused on the game. Even I don't know. There is a case against me. Everyone has the rights. You all know what type of case it is or where I was and what I was doing at that time. I don't want to talk much about it," Shakib told mediapersons in Kanpur ahead of what could be his 71st and last Test match.

"This is sad but you can't actually be sure that current caretaker Government will be too keen on sincerely organising Shakib's farewell game in Bangladesh. Now in Bangladesh, Shakib isn't just seen as a legendary sportsperson. He is someone who was associated with Sheikh Hasina. It is a case of us versus them," a senior Bangladeshi journalist told PTI.

Before Mustafizur Rahaman arrived on the scene, Shakib was one of the most sought after Bangladeshi players across leagues.

Mohammed Ashraful was a minefield of talent gone astray, Tamim Iqbal had the game and brain, Mushfiqur Rahim was determination personified, but when it came to overall impact, there was no one like Shakib.

Whether it is 217 against Tim Southee and Trent Boult at the Basin Reserve in Wellington or 84 runs and 10 wicket match haul against Australia at Mirpur, he was always in a league of his own.

And who can forget his winning hit during the 2014 IPL final which he won for KKR. He played 71 IPL games and was a part of two IPL winning KKR team under Gautam Gambhir.

He is still sought after in leagues across the globe and perhaps his heady success and more exposure to how cricket establishments ran across the globe made him a bit distant from the fans as well as how media portrayed him in general.

Mashrafe Mortaza for example was one of the most popular among all Bangladeshi captains till date. As cricketers, Shakib was head and shoulders above Mashrafe but the latter always shared a good vibe with media. Mashrafe was "Mash" for them while Shakib remained Shakib.

He perhaps never gave a peek to his inside world, earned way more than his other cricketing contemporaries and hence during tough times, he never received the empathy that some of the others got.
Also his plain speak never helped.

Once he was asked if he would like anything to be changed if he was made the CEO of Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and his retort was that he would like to be like 'Anil Kapoor's character in the film Nayak', who gets power for a day and makes sweeping changes.

Or for that matter when he kicked the stumps after being denied what looked a plumb leg before or the way he charged towards square leg umpire during a BPL game after he didn't rule an overhead wide.
Each time, his anger was valid but his expression earned him the wrath and criticism.

Last year at the Feroz Shah Kotla, he appealed for dismissal of Angelo Mathews as per "Timed Out" rule as the batter didn't take guard inside stipulated time after the last batter was out. Mathews was given out as per rule but the 'Spirit of Cricket' reared its ugly head where the veteran Sri Lankan expressed his disgust for Shakib "stooping so low".

He didn't find backers when all he did was to listen to his captain in waiting Najmul Shanto, who actually made him aware about the rules.

Shakib Al Hasan is a tremendous cricketer of international repute and hopefully Bangladesh cricket history would be kinder to him.