The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is currently engaged in a crucial decision-making process as they assess the availability of star all-rounder Shakib al Hasan for the role of the next ODI captain. The post went vacant following Tamim’s decision to step down as ODI captain recently due to his back injury. During the same press conference, BCB officials insisted that they will appoint their next ODI skipper for two years. Shakib, who is the current Test and T20I skipper, had previously led Bangladesh in 50-overs cricket, including the World Cup in 2011.
Initially Nazmul said that Litton Das will replace Tamim as ODI skipper if he is unavailable in the forthcoming Asia Cup but as the left-hander decided to step down now Shakib has appeared as the front-runner for the post due to his rich experience at the highest level. “We have not discussed captaincy yet. We have to take a break and think about it. As I have said before, if it was one series, we could have gone with the vice-captain (Litton) but now we have to think long term,” Nazmul told reporters in Dhaka. “There are two problems. If we think about the long term it is one thing. But there is the World Cup as well and the pressure of the World Cup is not small. If I select a new guy and whether he can take this pressure – we need to consider that as well. If we choose someone on a long term basis and he is not available after one year, what will we do? So we need to discuss these things,” he said. “Shakib is the obvious choice but can you say he will play for two years? We don’t know that and so we need to know his plan and talk with the board. I think the easiest choice is Shakib and there is no problem with it,” he said. The urgency to appoint the next ODI captain stems from the upcoming selection of the squad for the Asia Cup. The selection panel is currently unable to proceed without a clear direction on the leadership of the 50-over format team.
Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha is expected to arrive on August 8 and later start skill training of his charges to prepare for the upcoming Asia Cup, scheduled to be played in Pakistan and Sri Lanka from August 30.
