Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Shakib Al Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza during Bangladesh visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is currently on a two-day visit to Bangladesh. The ongoing trip is his first official visit to a foreign country after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The India PM is visiting the neighbouring country to attend the celebration of 50 years of Bangladesh’s liberation and the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Mr Modi landed at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) at 11:00 am on Friday morning. On his first day of the trip, he met Bangladesh’s young achievers who achieved successes in various fields. Two of the achievers were Bangladesh cricket superstars Shakib Al Hasan and Mashrafe Mortaza.

Apart from them, Mr Modi also met Bangladesh’s women cricketers Salma Khatun and Jahanara Alam, actresses Jaya Ahsan, Nusrat Faria, film director Redwan Rony, musician Sharmin Sultana Sumi among others.

Shakib was delighted with the meeting and said he was honoured to meet the India PM. Shakib is hopeful that Mr Modi’s visit would be a fruitful one and the relation between the two countries would be further strengthened.

“(I am) really honoured to meet the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modiji. I think his visit will be a fruitful one for both the countries and the leadership here shown for India is tremendous. There have been multiple tie-ups between India and Bangladesh and it’s growing over the time. I am hopeful and sure that this relationship will go a long way,” Shakib was quoted as saying by media outlets.

Shakib to visit India soon

Shakib Al Hasan will visit India soon for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) which gets underway on April 9. The former Bangladesh skipper had missed the last edition of the competition after being banned for a year by the ICC for failing to report corrupt approaches. He will ply his trade for Kolkata Knight Riders in the upcoming season.

KKR had secured his services for Rs 3.2 crores in the last auction. The southpaw had previously played for KKR from 2011 to 2017. During his stay with the Kolkata-based outfit, Shakib helped them win the IPL in 2012 and 2014.