Bangladeshi cricket captain Shakib Al Hasan won a parliamentary seat on in the general election that the opposition had boycotted. The versatile 36-year-old batsman, who leads the team in all formats, defeated his rival by a wide margin of over 150,000 votes in the Magura constituency in the western town, according to Abu Naser Beg, the district's top administrator. Beg called the triumph a "landslide victory," saying it was clear that Shakib had succeeded. The cricket player, who ran as a candidate for the ruling Awami League party led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has not yet responded, though. The Prime Minister is widely anticipated to secure a fifth term in power, especially since the main opposition, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), chose to boycott the election.

Shakib said that he was nervous about the competition but that he did not see any major barriers in the run-up to the election. He denied claims that he couldn't successfully juggle his jobs as a lawmaker and cricket captain, even though he took a brief break from the sport to focus on his campaign, underlining that he had not retired. Among Shakib's achievements is that, according to the International Cricket Council, he is the first person to ever hold the top spot for all-rounders in each of the three forms of cricket at the same time. He became well-known as a youngster, enrolling in the top sports academy in the nation, and at the age of 19, he made his batting all-around debut for his country in 2006.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)