While Bangladesh’s cricket board tries to persuade experienced all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan to succeed Tamim Iqbal as captain of the team for the ODIs, Litton Das hasn’t ruled it out. Tamim decided to leave the position as captain on August 3, hence the position is now open.
There have been rumours going around the team that Shakib does not want to be the captain of the team for the Asia Cup and instead wants to watch how Tamim’s original deputy, Litton, handles the pressures of a multi-team competition. According to a different BCB section, Shakib is ok with leading in all three formats. Both positions, however, were not supported by the team’s management.
The Asian Cricket Council set a deadline of August 12 for the BCB to reveal the teams for the upcoming Asia Cup, which will be hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka starting on August 30. Following their emergency meeting on August 8, the BCB said that they would name their next ODI skipper on or before that day.
The members of the selection panel met with Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha on Thursday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium after she arrived in Dhaka on August 9. Following their discussion with Hathurusingha, the selectors met with BCB president Nazmul Hasan to get his agreement on the team that would likely be revealed soon.
An official with knowledge of the matter stated, “Our president (BCB) is speaking with Shakib to ascertain his thoughts; if he agrees to captain the ODI squad, that is one thing, otherwise we need to consider other options.” In addition to Shakib, he said that Litton and Mehidy Hasan were also brought up during the emergency meeting as potential Tamim successors.
On Thursday, Litton was questioned about his desire for the ODI captaincy on a full-time basis during a private programme in Dhaka. Litton led Bangladesh in both the recent one-day series against Afghanistan and the home ODIs against India. He gave BCB the initiative once more, but he promised to give it his all if given the chance to take the lead.
“The Cricket Board is in charge of this (the captaincy). In a day or two, you will learn about it (the captaincy). It will be better if you read about it on the board rather than from me. Given that I work for the board and am compensated by them, I don’t believe it would be wise for me to discuss it from any angle.
“Just wait a little while; in a day or two, you’ll have a clear picture. Since I’ve been playing for a while, if the team asks for something positive from me, I also aim to do the same for my country. If chosen as the captain, I’ll strive to give everything I’ve got, as I always do,” he stated.
After hearing from Shakib, their first pick, Bangladesh is likely to unveil their ODI team on Friday. The 36-year-old, who is currently the Test and T20I captain, previously served as Bangladesh’s 50-overs captain, notably during the 2011 World Cup.
