Farewell tunes have started playing among the Panchpandavas of Bangladesh since a long time ago. Tamim Iqbal has been out of international cricket for a year. Mashrafe bin Mortuza has been absent since 2020. Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mushfiqur Rahim have all retired from one version or another.
Shakib-Tamim's age has already crossed 35. And maybe for a long time they will not be seen in the jersey of Bangladesh. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) selector Hannan Sarkar has given a different idea to retain the feat of Panchpandav on Facebook today. Hannan captioned the video of 5 minutes and 35 seconds, 'I have not told anyone these words about Shakib-Tamim. I brought it in front of everyone today. Look, listen'.
The BCB selector said, 'I have a wish that this can be done or not. In fact, all those who are with Bangladesh cricket, with the board, can think together, this is my personal thinking from my own place. The jersey number of these five can be kept separately by evaluating their achievements. These jersey numbers may not have been given to any new cricketer of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh achieved the highest success in ODI World Cup in 2015. Bangladesh played the quarter-finals of the service under the leadership of Mashrafe. In the 2017 Champions Trophy, Mashrafe led the semi-finals. In addition, 2012, 2016, 2018 three Asia Cup runners-up. Success in international cricket is the tri-series win over Ireland-West Indies led by Mashrafe in 2019.
Hannan praised the numerous records that Shakib-Tamim have set despite the lack of team achievements. The BCB selector said, 'If we see a hype in the media or everyone through you know that 'Panchpandav'. This Panchpandava word is known to everyone on social media. By mentioning these five people, the discussion comes here. When discussing these five people, one thing comes to mind and that is their achievements. If you think about it from that side, I might not have got any ICC event or any big trophy. All have many personal achievements. I freely admit it. (Shakib) was our number one all-rounder in the world. Tamim, how many runs Riyad scored, there is nothing to say again.
Bangladesh cricket has got many memorable victories at the hands of Mashrafe and Shakib. In world cricket, Sameh Jaganiya has become a team for the Panchapandavas. Many of the young generation are getting interested in cricket after watching Shakib. Hannan knows the mindset of young people well because he works with age groups. BCB selector said, 'Many of these (young) players have grown up watching Shakib-Tamim-Mashrafi-Mushfiqur-Riyad. He grew up thinking of them as ideals. Many people may have dreamed of this thought, when I become a cricketer like Shakib bhai, I will play wearing his (Shakib) number 75 jersey. If like Mashrafe, I will play after number 2. Tamim is 28, Mahmudullah is 28 or the five players we are talking about, grew up with their ideals or dreamed of wearing their jersey numbers.'
