Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan has stressed that Shakib Al Hasan is their preferred candidate for the ODI captaincy position in the upcoming Asia Cup 2023 following Tamim Iqbal’s exit due to a back injury. The post of ODI captain became vacant after Tamim’s recent decision to step down. While Shakib currently holds the Test and T20I captaincy, he has previously led Bangladesh in 50-overs cricket, including the 2011 World Cup.
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Initially, Nazmul mentioned that Litton Das would be the replacement ODI skipper in the forthcoming Asia Cup if Tamim is unavailable. However, with Tamim stepping down from the position now, Shakib has emerged as the front-runner for the role, given his vast 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 on Saturday (August 5).
“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.
“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,” he said.
Bangladesh is facing urgency in appointing their next ODI captain, as the selection panel is unable to finalize the squad without knowing the leader of the 50-over format team. The head coach, Chandika Hathurusingha, is set to arrive on August 8 and will commence skill training for the players, preparing them for the forthcoming Asia Cup. The tournament is scheduled to take place in Pakistan and Sri Lanka from August 30 onwards.
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