The controversy surrounding Shakib Al Hasan and Virender Sehwag appears to be escalating, with Imrul Kayes criticizing the former Indian opener for his comments on the Bangladesh star all-rounder.

Sehwag had suggested that Shakib should retire after the Bangladesh captain's low scores in the first two matches against Sri Lanka and South Africa. However, Shakib responded fittingly to his critics, including Sehwag, by scoring an unbeaten 64 runs to guide Bangladesh to victory over the Netherlands and qualify for the Super Eights of the T20 World Cup.

However, Imrul Kayes, one of Bangladesh's most successful openers, directed criticism towards Sehwag for his outspoken remarks, questioning whether Sehwag's 'lack of respect' stemmed from not receiving the same level of admiration as cricketing legends Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar. Kayes expected better from Sehwag, who holds a legendary status among Indian cricket greats, but his comments regarding Shakib have not been well-received.

"Shakib didn't become Shakib-Al-Hasan in 1 or 2 days. He is the No. 1 ICC all-rounder, not once but for a long time, and across formats. A player like him needs to be treated with respect, which Virender Sehwag didn't get in his career. So he probably knows nothing about respect or giving respect to others," Kayes was quoted as saying by several Bangladesh media outlets.

"This is not the first time he has said such things about Bangladesh or its cricketers. He did this once earlier as well when he said Bangladesh don't have the ability to pick 20 wickets in a Test match. I don't know what a legendary batter like him thinks before making such statements. Biggies like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid would never pull down a player because they know how to respect other players," he added.