Does Shakib play for BCB or with BCB?
Shakib Al Hasan is undoubtedly the greatest player that Bangladesh has produced. However, known for his wily bowling and tactful batting, the 35-year-old, in a career spanning over 16 years, has rarely kept his wits and impish charm reserved only for the field.
When it comes purely to cricket, the star all-rounder has dominated almost every side he has played against over the years. But off the field, Shakib's favourite opposition to have a go at is apparently the very organisation that signs his paycheck, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).
There is probably no other player in the world who has had even half the run-ins with the brass that Shakib has. If anything, the popular phrase that controversies and Shakib go hand-in-hand now seems to be underselling the antics of the top all-rounder.
One does not need to go too far back in his career timeline or drum up all of his past misgivings to prove Shakib's penchant for controversy, especially involving the BCB. Even a gander at his transgressions this year will be more than enough to establish the point.
Before his shenanigans involving Betwinner News -- a sister concern of betting site Betwinner -- was finally put to an end on Thursday after days of drama, Shakib's actions had forced BCB into a corner multiple times.
This January, Shakib had opted out citing family reasons for the Tigers' tour of New Zealand -- Bangladesh's first tour this year -- only after embarrassing the BCB, who had initially announced an 18-member squad for the two-Test series including the all-rounder.
He followed it up with a stunning U-turn on the South Africa tour in March. This time, he did go to the tour and played a significant part in Bangladesh's historic away ODI series win over the Proteas, but only after initially stating that he was not mentally fit to play any form of cricket.
To make things more disconcerting for BCB, he talked about his issues to the media instead of the board.
Thinking that BCB always bears the brunt of Shakib's misdemeanours would be wrong, although it is the case on most occasions. When the 35-year-old snarkily replied that he would be available for the entirety of the multi-format West Indies tour in June-July, the BCB knew all along that he was going to skip the three ODIs.
If observed closely, a rhythmic pattern can be found in Shakib's actions. More often than not, it goes something like this: Shakib goes over the head of BCB and breaks the news to the media, the BCB denies any knowledge about the issue when confronted by the media, the BCB investigates and finds out what has occurred, a verbal warning is issued -- often saying such offences will not fly -- and then eventually they let it fly.
However, it is also not that the BCB has never taken a strict stance against the cricketer. The six-month ban issued by the board in 2014 was one such incident. Still, the all-rounder's recklessness despite the BCB's steps only indicates an apparent lack of respect for the board.
Following the cricketer's latest involvement with a site related to betting, the BCB said it would demand answers from Shakib as to why he had signed a sponsorship deal without informing the board about it beforehand. How things will be taken from then on is yet to be seen. And even if BCB opts for a hard stance, how effective will it be in keeping Shakib away from controversies in the future?