Bangladesh players have rallied round teammate Shakib Al Hasan, the ousted lawmaker who faces a case of alleged murder connected to unrest that toppled the government earlier this month.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said his team's maiden Test win against Pakistan on Sunday, in which all-rounder Shakib took three second-innings wickets, was a tribute to the hundreds killed during protests that forced former premier Sheikh Hasina from power.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Bangladesh endured weeks of student-led protests that resulted in Hasina fleeing to India by helicopter on August 5, ending 15 years of autocratic rule.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Shakib, 37, who lost his job as a lawmaker for Hasina's Awami League party when parliament was dissolved, is "a big asset of our country," said Shanto in a post on Facebook late Monday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"He's been raising the name of Bangladesh in the world for 17 long years," Shanto said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Rafiqul Islam, the father of one of the hundreds killed during the civil unrest, filed a murder case against Shakib and 155 others in Dhaka on Thursday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Hasina's government was accused of widespread abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killing of political opponents.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Hasina, former ministers and other ex-lawmakers are among those also accused.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Shakib has not spoken publicly about the case, but his teammates said they were offering him support.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Such a case against Shakib bhai (brother) is unexpected," Shanto added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"In the new Bangladesh, we all want to see something new. I hope all the darkness will pass off and new light will come."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Veteran batsman Mushfiqur Rahim said on Facebook: "I have said it many times before, and I will say it again, I am proud to play alongside a champion like Shakib.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"As a teammate and a brother, I will be there during his tough times, and I do not support the false allegations made against him because I know he would never engage in inhumane actions."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Bangladesh achieved their first victory over Pakistan in 14 Tests with a thumping 10-wicket win on Sunday after both teams struggled in hot conditions on a flat Rawalpindi pitch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n