Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan is going to name a new captain this week. Former captain Tamim Iqbal resigned from captaincy citing injury as the reason. Now BCB is in search of new competent captain. Shakib Al Hasan is reportedly the first choice, with Litton Das and Mehidy Hasan Miraz also being contenders. The board has entrusted Hassan to discuss the matter with the captaincy candidates by August 12. The board members want Shakib to lead the team in the Asia Cup and World Cup, as he is the most experienced at handling the pressure of big tournaments.
Some board members suggested the idea of split captaincy going forward. The consensus is that the responsibility of the white-ball format should go to Shakib, and that of Test cricket should go to Liton to groom him for the future.
Two test series against New Zealand is scheduled on home soil after the World Cup, and many feel that the all-rounder may skip the Test series as well, after playing non-stop cricket from September to November. The board has yet to start negotiation with Shakib regarding his availability, likely due to the need for the board’s mandate to make such a move.
The BCB president received the mandate from the board during an emergency meeting on August 8. They are confident about resolving the matter on or before August 12, the deadline set by the Asian Cricket Council to announce the squads for the forthcoming Asia Cup, hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka from August 30. The squad for the Asia Cup has to be announced by August 12, leaving the BCB only three more days to reach a decision. Shakib is currently in Colombo, Litton has just returned to Bangladesh after playing the Global T20 Canada, and Mehidy is in Dhaka.
Read More Stories.
