Bangladesh Cricket Board Interested in Handing ODI Captaincy to Shakib al Hasan: Report – News18
Curated By: Aakash Biswas
Last Updated: August 06, 2023, 14:13 IST
Shakib al Hasan in race to become Bangladesh’s ODI captain
Bangaldesh Cricket Board chief Nazmul Hasan has said that the board wanted to know Shakib’s plan before handing him the ODI captaincy
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is mulling over a new ODI captain after Tamil Iqbal stepped down from the post recently. The veteran opening batter also pulled out of the upcoming Asia Cup, starting August 30, citing a back injury. The BCB seems to be interested to hand the responsibility to veteran all-rounder Shakib al Hasan but the board wants to confirm the cricketer’s availability before taking the call.
According to Cricbuzz, BCB chief Nazmul Hasan has said that the board wanted to know Shakib’s plan before handing him the ODI captaincy. The former initially said that Litton Das will replace Tamim as ODI skipper if he is unavailable for the Asia Cup. But now, Shakib seems to be the frontrunner for the post after Tamim relinquished the same.
“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 on Saturday.
“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.
“Leading in the bilateral series and World Cup are two different things. And whether that influences his (Litton) batting or not, we need to see everything. We will take a decision without hurrying it up,” Hassan added.
Shakib had led the Bangladesh team in the 50-over format including the 2011 World Cup and is already captaining the side in Tests and T20Is. The appointment of an ODI skipper is a must for the Bangla Tigers as the selection panel is unable to name their squad for the forthcoming ICC world Cup 2023 without a leader.
