Shakib Al Hasan admits bowling with illegal action

Former Bangladesh captain and all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has revealed that he Shakib Al Hasan admits bowling with illegal action during his matches, which had caused controversy in 2024 when his bowling action was declared illegal while playing in English county cricket. This led to his suspension and intense scrutiny of his technique.

Shakib explained in an interview that he believes he bowled with a slightly illegal action on purpose. He said it happened during a match against Somerset while representing Surrey, where he bowled more than 70 overs – far more than he had ever bowled in a single Test match.

The all-rounder mentioned that the heavy workload left him physically exhausted. He had played back-to-back Test series against Pakistan, winning the series, and then moved on to four-day county matches, which required him to bowl long spells continuously.

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Shakib also stated that he expected umpires to give him warnings, but they followed the rules and reported his action. He did not file a complaint, accepted the report, failed the initial bowling action test, and later cleared the test on re-evaluation.

In total, Shakib bowled 63.2 overs in that match, and by the start of this year, he was cleared to bowl again in international cricket. This episode highlights Shakib Al Hasan admits bowling with illegal action and the challenges faced by all-rounders managing heavy workloads in cricket.