Shakib Al Hasan allowed to take 6-month break from Test cricket

Shakib, who is the leading all-rounder in the limited overs format, will not don  the white jersey for Bangladesh for quite a while.

"Shakib wrote a letter to us asking for a six-month break," Mohammad Akram, chairman of Bangladesh Cricket Board's Cricket Operations said as quoted by Cricbuzz.

In August, Australia traveled to Bangladesh for two Test match series where Shakib’s performance helped the hosts win their the first ever match against the Aussies. He not only contributed with the bat but also claimed 10 wickets in the match.

Bangladesh are scheduled to travel to South Africa at the end of this month where they will play two Tests, three ODIs, and two T20Is. 

"He can miss the first Test against South Africa but if he wants, he can play the second Test. He will not be traveling with the team but he can tell us what he decides to do," he added.

The board granted Shakib’s request to ease his workload which will help him in the longer run. The all-rounder has played 51 Tests and 177 ODIs for his country in which he has scored 3594 and 4983 runs repectively while claiming 188 and 224 wickets respectively. 

"We can't always be thinking about us. We should also keep his fatigue into consideration," Akram said.