MI Emirates narrowly defeated Sharjah Warriors in a tense ILT20 clash, a match that also saw Shakib Al Hasan endure a rare and humbling day. The 38-year-old all-rounder was retired out for the first time in his career and conceded 27 runs from two overs without taking a wicket, making it a frustrating outing both with bat and ball.
Sharjah Warriors needed 21 runs from the final 12 balls to chase MI Emirates’ total of 185 for 8 wickets. Dinesh Karthik and Tim Cadmore were at the crease, with Cadmore unbeaten on 50 from 40 balls, keeping the Warriors in contention. However, Zaher Khan dismissed Cadmore in the 19th over, swinging the game back in Emirates’ favour.
In the final over, Sharjah required 11 runs. Romario Shepherd bowled and dismissed Karthik, leaving the Warriors four runs short at 181. Sikandar Raja top-scored for Sharjah with 64, while Cadmore contributed 51. For Emirates, Mohammad Ghazanfar and Navin Ul Haq took two wickets each, with Fazal Haq Faruki, Zaher Khan, and Shepherd claiming one each.
Shakib’s batting was curtailed by a tactical decision. Coming in at number five, he scored 16 from 12 balls before being taken off to accelerate the scoring, allowing captain Kieron Pollard to enter. Commentator Mike Heasman confirmed that Shakib had been retired out, a first in his illustrious career. This strategic move, increasingly common in T20 cricket, has been seen now 61 times, 26 of them in 2025 alone.
Pollard, however, lasted just two balls, scoring 4 before dismissal. It was Romario Shepherd’s explosive 31 from 10 balls, including four sixes and a four, that anchored Emirates’ late surge. Earlier contributions included 56 from openers Mohammad Wasim and Jonny Bairstow, and a quick 32 from Tom Benton.
On the bowling front, Shakib delivered two overs for 27 runs without claiming a wicket. This, combined with his early retirement from batting, made it a particularly tough day for the Bangladesh all-rounder.
Tactically retiring a batsman is now a standard tactic in T20 cricket to maximise scoring opportunities. Among Bangladeshi cricketers, only Sanjamul Islam had experienced it before, in a peculiar 2019 BPL finish where he was declared retired out without facing a ball.
