'BCB didn't pay me any attention'
A day after shocking the country with his sudden retirement, batsman Rokibul Hasan confirmed that his grievances against the cricket authorities drove him to this end. But he denied that his emotions got the better of him.
Rokibul, who walked out on the team hotel in Chittagong Wednesday afternoon having announced his decision in front of the Bangladesh team, said that he had taken enough time to come to this conclusion.
He was dropped from the team for the only Test in New Zealand earlier this year after failing in the first one-dayer. Since then, he says, he felt largely deprived.
"I was taken to New Zealand but was not picked for the Test match. Then I was not picked in the one-day side [that played England at home] and I am not in the World Twenty20 probables," said Rokibul outside his Mirpur residence yesterday evening. He delayed his return by a few hours after learning of the media's presence.
The 22-year-old right-handed batsman scored an unbeaten 107 and a half-century in the practice match against England only last week that hastened his return to the Test fold. But he claimed that this was a part of his plan that can only be called a sort of revenge on the cricket board.
"I felt that I wasn't getting enough attention from the cricket board and so I decided to make voluntary retirement once I was back in the team on my merit," said Rokibul in his initial monologue.
"I couldn't secure my position and was always on the fringe of the squad.
"It was my wish to retire at this time," he said before refusing to comment on whether it was emotions that played a major part in his early retirement. He also refused to be drawn into any war of words with captain Shakib Al Hasan who termed it as 'emotional and silly'.
He also informed that he will not take part in domestic cricket for now and still hasn't considered his future before rushing up the stairs.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Cricket Board released their official version regarding the Rokibul episode yesterday.
"Batsman Rokibul Hasan on Wednesday notified the Bangladesh Cricket Board that he was retiring from cricket with immediate effect. The abrupt nature of this announcement has come as a shock to everyone concerned as this was totally unexpected," read the statement.
"The Board understands that this was a unilateral decision on part of the player but also feels that it was rather pre-mature. We certainly do not wish to see a young talented cricketer like Rokibul leaving the game so early and hope that he will reconsider his position.
"It has also come to our notice that certain quarters have related the situation with Rokibul to the selection process of the BCB. We take this opportunity to reiterate once again that selection of Test, ODI and T20 Teams is based purely on performance and merit and is done at the discretion of the national selection committee which has its own criteria for picking players. Therefore, there is no scope for emotion in this regard.
"Rokibul Hasan is an important member of the Bangladesh National Team and it is our sincere expectation that he will return to mainstream cricket at the earliest," concluded the statement.
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