Shakib became only the fifth bowler to reach 500 T20 wickets, finishing the CPL match with 502 and joining Rashid Khan, Dwayne Bravo, Sunil Narine and Imran Tahir
He is the only cricketer in T20 history with the double of 7000-plus runs and 500 wickets, a record that sets him apart from other allrounders
He is currently living in the United States with his family, unable to return to Bangladesh due to ongoing political controversies and legal cases linked to the fall of the Awami League
Shakib Al Hasan: Exile, Milestones And A Return To The CPL - His 500th T20 Wicket Tells A Bigger Story
Shakib Al Hasan's latest feat: The Bangladeshi all-rounder became only the fifth bowler to reach 500 T20 wickets, but the landmark comes at a strange moment in his life; tangled in controversy back home, he is settled in the USA, and playing in the CPL after years away
Summary
Shakib Al Hasan arrived at North Sound on Sunday needing just one wicket to add another line to his already packed résumé. By the end of the night he had three. His first strike was the most important, a return catch to dismiss Mohammad Rizwan that took him to 500 T20 wickets. He followed it up with two more in his next over to finish on 502.
Joining A Rare Club
That number places him in rare company. Only Rashid Khan with 660 wickets, Dwayne Bravo with 631, Sunil Narine with 590 and Imran Tahir with 554 have more. Yet Shakib’s achievement is unique. He is the only cricketer in T20 history to combine 500 wickets with more than 7000 runs. Bravo came close with 6970 runs, while Andre Russell has 9361 runs but is still short of the 500 mark with 487 wickets.
Beyond Wickets, A Bowler Of Control
The record also highlights Shakib’s control. In 434 innings where he bowled at least two overs, he has kept batters to a run a ball or less on 181 occasions. That is 41.5 percent of the time, bettered only by Narine, Rashid and Imad Wasim among bowlers with 250 or more innings. It explains why he is not just a wicket-taker but also a bowler who can choke games into silence.
Living In Exile & Return To CPL
Beyond the numbers lies the complicated reality of his career. Shakib has not been back to Bangladesh for months. He is now based in the United States with his family. The political changes at home and the fall of the Awami League, with whom he was closely linked as an elected MP, have left him facing legal cases and security concerns. His name has appeared in FIRs since the unrest, making any return uncertain.
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Shakib returned to the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) in 2025 after a two-season absence, with his comeback for the Antigua & Barbuda Falcons marking his first CPL appearance since 2022.
Shakib is 38 now. His milestones still pile up, but so do the questions about what comes next. The headline is about 500 wickets, yet the bigger story is of an allrounder still adding to his legacy while living far from the country he once carried on his shoulders.
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