Shakib Al Hasan walked in to bat in the 12th over. He hit a four from his third ball. Two balls later he struck another boundary. But his stay at the crease did not last long. MI Emirates asked him to retire tactically and he left the field.
This scene took place on Sunday in the International League T20 at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. It was the 16th over of the innings against Sharjah Warriors. Shakib was not out, yet he walked back to the dressing room. He had scored 16 runs from 12 balls.
MI Emirates were 129 for 4 when he left. Kieron Pollard then walked in wearing the gold cap.
MI batted first after losing the toss. Mohammad Wasim made 39 from 29 balls before getting out at the end of the 11th over. Johnny Bairstow scored 37 from 24 balls. Nicholas Pooran managed only 5 runs from 12 balls.
Shakib came in after the third wicket fell. He played two dot balls from Sikandar Raza. He then cut the next ball for a four. Later he drove Rashid Khan through cover for his second boundary.
He added 7 more runs from six balls but did not find another four. After the 16th over, he walked off. Commentator Mike Haysman said MI had retired him for tactical reasons.
Pollard, who replaced him, also struggled. He hit a four from his first ball but got caught out on his second ball.
Tactical retirements have become common in T20 cricket. Rajasthan Royals used this idea with Ravichandran Ashwin in the 2022 IPL. Since then teams have used it more often.
This was MI’s second match of the event. They had lost their first game to Gulf Giants by six wickets. Shakib did not play in that match.
Bangladesh fast bowler Taskin Ahmed is part of the Sharjah Warriors squad. But the team kept him on the bench for the second straight match.
