Bangladeshi allrounder Shakib Al Hasan has agreed to be part of the Bangladesh squad that is headed for a tour of South Africa. Shakib, whose inclusion in the team had been the subject of much discussion, made the announcement himself after meeting with Bangladesh Cricket Board chief Nazmul Hasan at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla Stadium.

The Tigers will set off for South Africa on Sunday night. On Mar 9, the BCB announced that it was ‘resting’ Shakib from all forms of the game citing his ‘physical and mental condition’. Shakib had been in Dubai at the time and had spoken to the board over the phone.

“Before travelling abroad, Shakib mentioned that he was under stress both mentally and physically,” Jalal Yunus, chief of BCB cricket operations, had said at the time. “I asked him to think it over for a couple of days, after which I spoke to him today and asked what he planned to do.” “He said he was unfit to play cricket both physically and mentally, and wanted to drop out of the team’s South Africa tour. We decided to rest Shakib in his interest.”