Bangladesh cricketer Shakib Al Hasan reached Kolkata to play the new season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The T20 cricket league is slated to start on April 9 with the opening game between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

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Shakib left for Kolkata on early Saturday and will represent Kolkata Knight Riders in this season of the IPL.

Kolkata will start their campaign with the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 11.

Shakib had previously won two titles for Kolkata and also played for Sunrisers Hyderabad for two seasons.

Overall, the all-rounder played 63 games in the IPL and scored 746 runs and claimed 59 wickets. He has always been one of the best all-rounders of this T20 league.

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The all-rounder missed the last season of the IPL as he was banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for two years, with one year suspended, due to failing to report corrupt approaches made to him.

He, however, made a comeback to competitive cricket with the Bangabandhu T20 League last year but failed to impress.

He also made a comeback to international cricket with the West Indies series earlier this year but skipped the New Zealand tour to stay with his wife – who gave birth to their third child this month.

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Shakib will also not be a part of Bangladesh's Sri Lanka tour for a two-match Test series as he is set to participate in this year's IPL. Both the Sri Lanka series and IPL are scheduled to take place at the same time.

The all-rounder sparked controversy after choosing not to play Tests in Sri Lanka. However, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has granted a 48-day leave to him so that he can play the whole season of this year's IPL.