'He crossed a line'

On the day when all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was suspended from competitive cricket for six months there was a mixed reaction from Bangladesh's cricketing community.
According to former national cricketer Athar Ali Khan it was a decision that the BCB were 'forced to take' and something that the player had brought upon himself.
“To be very frank and honest I feel bad for Shakib, I feel really sorry for him. But on a different note as a player you also need to hold yourself back because you are one of the top players and you cannot cross certain lines. This was on the cards.
“The last six months we heard so many things about Shakib which were not acceptable. I think the BCB was forced to take this decision,” said Athar.
Athar however, hopes that Shakib can win brownie points from the BCB through good behaviour.
“I expect Shakib to be at his best so that the BCB can consider reducing his punishment. As a player I know that being punished is a strong message in itself. I hope the BCB considers that,” said Athar. “Knowing him personally I know that he will learn from this phase and come back even stronger,” he added.
Shakib's mentor and former national assistant coach Mohammad Salahuddin was extremely hurt when he heard the news. He spoke to The Daily Star in a sombre voice and said, “I am really hurt. If you tell a mother that you are going to suspend her son from playing cricket how would she feel? If someone told you that you would not be able to write from tomorrow how would you feel? I don't have anything to say to the BCB. I just hope he doesn't commit these mistakes again.”
Gazi Ashraf Hossain, Bangladesh's first ODI captain was concerned regarding how the decision could backfire for the national team. While he did state that Shakib had an 'attitude problem', he said that the sanctions imposed could have been different.
“There were several controversies and this was a result of all of that. I think if the steps would have been taken in time then we would not have had to see such a big punishment today. Now the BCB will have to wait and see if Shakib can be fit in time for the 2015 World Cup,
“I think the BCB should have gone through the right process while taking this decision. They could have taken more time. They could have for instance suspended him from his commercial activities for five years or given him a huge fine. That way we could have availed his services,” he added.