Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam today said cricketer Shakib Al Hasan knew that "someone will win the election" for him.

He made the remarks while talking with a group of journalists, according to a private television channel.

Shafiqul also criticised Shakib's entry into politics saying that other celebrity cricketers who are his contemporaries avoided a similar path.

The remarks came against the backdrop that recently the Bangladesh cricket icon who later became a lawmaker has offered an unapologetic defence of his political choices, confronting the consequences of his decisions off the pitch.

Shakib won the January 7 election last year as an Awami League candidate from Magura-1 constituency.

Shafiqul mentioned that he himself covered the election as a journalist back then in Magura and saw "there was no opponent" while the election was also a "staged one".

"It was understandable who was going to win," he added.

He also said while a contestant in the national election usually run campaign for one to two months, Shakib on the other hand did it for two to three days.

Recently, Shakib gave an interview to a newspaper in which he spoke about his joining politics.

"I don't see anything wrong in what I did… If it was a mistake for me to join politics, then anyone who joins politics in the future would also be making a mistake," Shakib told Daily Sun's Zaigum Azam in a candid interview titled, "My greatest wish is to play for my country and retire from home", published on Wednesday, according to a report of The Daily Star.

"Joining politics is a right for any citizen… I think I was right when I joined, and I still believe I was right because my intention was to work for the people of Magura," said the former Bangladesh captain.