'I hope that I can play another World Cup,' Shakib Al Hasan shares future plans

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has hinted at the possibility of playing in the next T20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka in 2026.

Leading up to the 2024 T20 World Cup, there were speculations that this tournament might be Shakib’s last in the T20I format. Shakib, along with Rohit Sharma, is one of the only two players to have featured in every edition of the ICC T20 World Cup so far.

Shakib hints at playing in the 2026 T20 World Cup

Currently, Shakib holds the record for the most wickets in the tournament’s history, with 47 wickets in 36 matches. Although he had previously mentioned making a decision about his international future after the 2025 Champions Trophy, he recently spoke about the possibility of extending his career with an eye on the next T20 World Cup as well.

“Firstly, when I started I didn’t expect that I will play for so long and secondly since the start of T20 Cricket World Cup till this T20 World Cup, I have participated in all them along with Rohit Sharma. It is a matter of pride for me and I’m happy that I could represent the country,” Shakib was quoted in a video uploaded in BCB’s Facebook page on Friday.”Me and Rohit Sharma are the only two players who played all the T20 World Cups and I hope that I can play another World Cup but before that would like to perform well in the tournament and Bangladesh can do better than previous T20 tournament,” he said.

“The only thing that I want is to contribute for Bangladesh team…”

Shakib, who spends most of his time in the USA where his family is based, expressed confidence in Bangladesh’s performance in the upcoming tournament. He noted that the wickets in the USA are expected to be similar to those in Bangladesh, which should favor his team. He also anticipates an equal battle between bat and ball in the ICC T20 World Cup.

“It is alright that USA is my second home but it is difficult to say but I think we will get that because earlier when we played in West Indies and America we did well and we played in Florida we did well,” said Shakib.

“We always get favour their because those pitches are quite similar to ours back home. I hope we will get advantage in both the places,” he said.

Shakib added that he is expecting an equal battle between bat and ball in the ICC T20 World Cup.

“The only thing that I feel is that here it should be the same competition between bat and ball and it should not be one-sided and normally that is not the case with World Cups and I feel it would be the same this time round.”

Shakib admitted that he still finds playing cricket much easier than handling his responsibilities as a Member of Parliament. Shakib is currently serving as an MP in Bangladesh after winning his Magura constituency in the last general elections.

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“For me being the member of the parliament is difficult (compared to playing cricket) because I am playing for a long time since my childhood and feel very comfortable with it while this (politics) is new to me (being member of the parliament),” said Shakib who is eyeing to have support from Bangladeshi fans in the showpiece event.

“There will be lot of Bangladeshi fans there (in the World Cup) and I hope they will give us full support and this support will help us and we will be able to give good results,” he said.

“I don’t want to see anything besides my name and the only thing that I want is to contribute for Bangladesh team and hope to do well for Bangladesh in this World Cup,” he added.

With these insights, it is clear that Shakib Al Hasan remains passionate about his cricketing career and is considering extending his T20I journey beyond the 2024 World Cup.