Bangladesh’s seasoned all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has apologised for not speaking out during the violent demonstrations in the country which saw scores of people being killed in the student-led movement that succeeded in ousting the country’s former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August.

“Firstly, I would like to pay my respects to all the students who sacrificed their lives, led the anti-discrimination movement, and were martyred or injured during the people’s uprising,” said Shakib in a post on Facebook.

The apology comes after Shakib — who was a parliament member of the Hasina-led Awami League party — was booked in a murder case involving the death of a garment factory worker.

The cricketer has not been home since protests erupted in July but the Bangladesh Cricket Board has assured him he will not be harassed on his return.

“I extend my deepest respect and condolences to them and their families,” read the cricketer’s post on Facebook on Wednesday.

“While no sacrifice can compensate for the loss of a loved one, nothing can fill the void of losing a child or a brother, to those of you who were hurt by my silence during this critical period, I respect your feelings and sincerely apologise. If I were in your place, I too might have been upset,” he added.

The all-rounder is considered the greatest cricketer Bangladesh has produced but his political past places the former captain in a tricky position as an interim government supervises a power transition.

He has played 71 tests, 247 One-Day Internationals and 129 Twenty20 Internationals, amassing 14,730 runs and claiming 712 wickets to establish himself as one of the leading all-rounders of his era.

“I want to say goodbye with all of you around. At the moment of farewell, I want to shake hands with those whose applause compelled me to play better,” the former skipper said while requesting the fans to be present for his final test match against South Africa in Dhaka starting from October 21.

“I want to meet the eyes of those who cheered in joy when I played well and whose eyes welled up with tears when I did not,” he remarked.

Last month, he announced that he would soon retire from international cricket but hoped to play at least one more match back home first.

“It’s my desire, I have said this to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the selectors,” he told reporters.

After more than 65 years, England have become the second team to post more than 700 runs against Pakistan.

The visitors achieved this feat in the first Test match of three-match series against Pakistan at the Multan Cricket Stadium in Multan.

Earlier, West Indies scored 790/ 3 against the Green Shirts in 1958.

England have put 800-plus runs on board on the fourth day, making the highest ever innings total against Pakistan. 

This is a developing story and is being updated with more details.

Dhaka: Former Bangladesh cricket team captain Shakib Al Hasan apologized months later for his silence during the student protests in July.

Shakib Al Hasan was a Member of Parliament during the Awami League regime and remained silent during the protests in July.

The cricketer was playing the league in Canada during the protests, after which he moved to the US, and then joined Pakistan and India for series. He is also named in the murder case and still has not returned to Bangladesh.

However, now the former captain apologized for the silence adopted during the students’ protest in a social media message and appealed for support at home ground in his last Test match.

Shakib wrote in a statement on social media that those who were martyred and injured during the student movement are respectable to him. ‘I would be upset if I were you, I am playing the last match where I want to say goodbye to all of you, I want to shake hands with my fans on the occasion’.

It is pertinent to note that Shakib Al Hasan announced his retirement from Test cricket last month but expressed his desire to play the last Test against South Africa at his home ground.

The Test between South Africa and Bangladesh is scheduled to start from October 21 in Dhaka.

Harry Brook and Joe Root carried on England’s pursuit on the fourth day of the opening Test against Pakistan in Multan.

With Root and Harry Brook on the crease with 176* and 141* to their names, respectively, the visitors trail by 64 runs in the first innings against Pakistan’s 556-run total.

With the visitors aiming to surpass the national side’s total today, the Shan Masood-led side faced a setback as the team’s leg-spinner Abrar Ahmad didn’t come out on the field due to fever.

The spinner has so far been wicketless in his 35 overs where he conceded 174 runs.

Furthermore, the team also missed out on dismissing Root as Babar Azam dropped a sitter as the right-handed batter attempted a pull shot on the leg side off Naseem Shah’s bowling.

Starting out at 32* a day earlier, Root went on to surpass his former teammate and skipper Alastair Cook’s tally of 12,472.

After Root, Brook completed his century in the 84th over with eight fours and one six. It was Brook’s sixth Test ton and fourth against Pakistan — which came off 118 balls.

Before that, the English side lost Zak Crawley for 78 inside the first hour when the opener flicked one from Shaheen Afridi to Aamer Jamal at mid-wicket.

That abruptly ended the 109-run stand for the second wicket but England were in no mood to slow down.

Playing XI

Pakistan: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmad

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir