Credit: Twitter
Bangladesh cricket is currently facing a dilemma, after Tamim Iqbal took a U-turn from his retirement announcement, and then subsequently stepped down as the ODI skipper of the Bangladesh team. Amidst all the drama, the team now do not have a skipper in the ODI format, when the marquee event, the ODI World Cup is just around the corner.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is interested in finding out if star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is willing to take over the ODI captaincy from Tamim Iqbal after he stepped down due to a recurring back injury. In the beginning, BCB President Nazmul Hassan stated that Litton Das would take over as ODI skipper in the event that Tamim was unable to play in the upcoming Asia Cup.
However, since the left-hander opted to resign, Shakib Al Hasan has emerged as the front-runner due to his extensive experience at the highest level. Shakib, the current Test and T20I captain, previously served as the captain of Bangladesh in 50-over cricket, notably at the 2011 World Cup.
Also read: Rohit Sharma drops major hint of playing in T20I World Cup 2024; video goes viral
“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 Das, but now we have to think long-term,” Nazmul announced to 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. Leading in the bilateral series and World Cup are two different things,” Nazmul Hassan added further.
He also stated that Shakib is the obvious choice for captaincy, but it is not known whether he will play for two more years. He stated that the board needs to have a talk with him, get to know his plan, and then appoint a new captain accordingly. "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 about Shakib Al Hasan.
The board does not have a lot of time for contemplation, as the Asia Cup gets underway from August 30, in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. They need to assign the leader’s role soon and start preparations after head coach Chandika Hathurusingha joins the camp on August 8. Shakib Al Hasan and Litton Das are front runners for the role of captain of the team.
