Shakib Al Hasan unlikely to travel to Bangladesh for his final Test due to protests
Dhaka, Oct 17: Bangladesh's premier all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is unlikely to travel to his native country for his final Test match, against South Africa in Mirpur, Dhaka from October 21-25, due to protests against him in the city.
Shakib was included in the Bangladesh squad for the first Test against the Proteas, which was going to be his final appearance in the format.
"I am not sure where I am going next, but it is almost sure that I am not going home," Shakib told ESPNcricinfo.
Shakib had been apprehensive about returning to Bangladesh because of concerns about his family's safety.
Besides being a star cricketer, Shakib is an ex-lawmaker in the government ousted by a revolution in August.
The 37-year-old announced his retirement from international cricket last month but said that he wanted to play one last Test series at home, following which he was included in the squad for the two Tests against South Africa.
He was one of 147 people named in an FIR for an alleged murder during the unrest.
While announcing the squad, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) selector Hannan Sarkar on Wednesday said that they selected Shakib after getting a "green signal" from the authorities.
"We haven't received any further instructions from the BCB or the cricket operations committee. It is a paused status at the moment. He is in transit in Dubai," Ashraf said.
Students started protesting his imminent arrival from Wednesday evening.
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Andhra to be developed as knowledge, creator economy hub: CM Naidu
New Delhi/Amaravati (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said the state is taking steps to transform itself into a knowledge and creator economy hub with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and quantum technology.
He noted that Andhra Pradesh has abundant tech-driven youth and the government is formulating plans to train them in futuristic technologies with support from global technology firms.
"Our goal is to transform Andhra Pradesh into a knowledge hub by focusing on AI, quantum computing, data centres, drone cities and space cities. The youth will remain our biggest asset over the next 25 years, and we seek global partnerships to scale up the creator economy," said Naidu during his interactions at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi.
Naidu, who participated in the summit in the national capital, also held meetings with several global technology leaders and industrialists to explore collaborations in artificial intelligence, clean energy and innovation ecosystems.
He met Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Autodesk AI Head Mike Haley, Aramco India Director Abdul Rehman AiThukair, LEGO Education Vice President Tom Hall, Aadhaar Founder and CTO Srikanth Nadhamuni, Khosla Ventures Managing Partner Vinod Khosla and others at the AP Pavilion.
The chief minister also held discussions with Saudi Aramco representatives on clean energy projects, including solar initiatives, and invited the company to expand operations in Andhra Pradesh, stating that the state is highly suitable for green energy production.
He sought support from NVIDIA Vice President Callista Redmond for establishing AI Living Labs and proposed partnerships through the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub to promote youth innovation, including collaborations with IIT Tirupati and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati under the Andhra Pradesh Future Innovation and Research for Science and Technology (AP FIRST) initiative.
Naidu urged Autodesk leadership to support the development of Global Capability Centres in design engineering and requested the establishment of an Innovation Academy in Amaravati aligned with quantum technology, besides proposing AI and robotics learning labs in partnership with LEGO Education.
He also discussed AI-driven smart governance solutions with Quantela Inc Chairman Sridhar Gadhi, while World Bank Group Digital AI Regional Director Mahesh Uttamchandani met Naidu on the sidelines of the summit.
Following the meetings, Naidu visited various exhibition stalls at the summit, including those of NVIDIA, Tata, Intel and Microsoft, and reviewed AI applications across agriculture, healthcare and industry.
