Bangladesh cricket captain Shakib Al Hasan wins Parliament seat

Bangladesh cricket team’s captain Shakib Al Hasan won a Parliament seat in the general elections conducted in the country on Sunday, January 7. Shakib, who contested from Magura-1 for Awami League, registered a landslide victory in the general polls boycotted by the opposition. 

Shakib prevailed over his closest rival – Kazi Rezaul Hossain by a margin of 1,50,000 votes as Hossain secured 45,993 votes. He took a leave from cricket for the election campaign. Speaking ahead of the polls, the veteran star said that was not having any serious barriers but was still anxious. “The competition and challenges are always there, be it a small team or big team,” he told AFP.

Notably, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has also secured yet another term with the Awami League. Her party won 200 out of the 300 seats in the Parliament despite counting is still going on after the end of Sunday poll. An election commission spokesman told media that Awami League can be called as the winner. “We can call Awami League winner with the already available results but the final announcement will be made after the end of the counting of votes in the rest of the constituencies,” the spokesperson told media. 

Shakib was last seen in action in the ODI World Cup 2023, where he led his team to an eight-placed finish. While the Bangla Tigers marked another underwhelming tournament, the finish was enough to see the Asian nation secure a place in the Champions Trophy, while the likes of Sri Lanka and Netherlands have missed out. 

After the World Cup, Bangladesh faced New Zealand in two different tours – one at home and the other away. However, Shakib was not part of any of the assignments.