The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) unsurprisingly named Shakib Al Hasan as their captain for the upcoming Asia Cup and World Cup.
BCB president Nazmul Hassan Papon made the much-anticipated announcement in a surprising media briefing today at his residence in the city.
“As I said earlier, Shakib is the easiest choice as the captain for his experience and influence. So he was our obvious choice. We made him the captain for the Asia Cup and World Cup. In between there is home series against New Zealand,” Papon said.
“I think the squad for the World Cup and Asia Cup will be announced tomorrow since the captain’s name is announced. The selectors were waiting for the coach and captain as they need to know their input for the squad. The squad will be a 17-member,” he added.
Current vice-captain Liton Das and allrounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s name were also emerged as the probable captain but the BCB chief felt there is no one better than Shakib in dealing with the pressure in the a big tournament like World Cup.
“Pressure is a big factor. You can’t compare the World Cup pressure and pressure in a bilateral series. Shakib is a performer and he knows how to handle the pressure in crucial tournament and moment. At this moment there is no one better than him,” he opined.
It was the second time, Shakib was announced a full time captain for Bangladesh in ODI format, having led the side from 2009 to 2011 including the 2011 World Cup. He captained in 49 matches and led the side to the victory in 22 matches at that time.
He was the deputy for the frequently-injured Mashrafe Bin Mortaza from 2015-2017 and led three more ODIs, each time standing in for Mashrafe. Shakib has so far led Bangladesh in 19 Tests and 39 T20Is, and the last of his 52 ODIs as captain was in 2017.
After being announced captain in ODI format, he became the captain of Bangladesh in all three formats of cricket at this moment.
But Papon said they would talk to him at length to know whether he would keep leading the side in all three formats of cricket.
“I spoke to him on the phone yesterday but we need to talk to him at length to know his long term plan. He is now busy with Lankan Premier League. Let him come first and then we will also talk about which format he will keep leading, whether it is all three formats or one or two of them,” the BCB boss said.
Papon however further informed that the Asia Cup squad will be the same as the World Cup squad but there is confusion in one spot just as the BCB is yet to know whether Tamim will be recovering from the injury fully before the cricket’s biggest extravaganza.
“There is just one spot open. We still don’t know about Tamim Iqbal who is recovering from a back injury. We might trial one or two openers in the Asia Cup,” he said.
Tamim who stepped down from the captaincy because of the uncertainty around his fitness, has already been ruled out of the Asia Cup that starts on August 30. But he is expected to be fit in time for the ODI series against New Zealand that starts on September 21 and the ODI World Cup that follows.
Tamim resignation came less than a month after he reversed his shocking decision to retire from the International cricket, which after 28 hours he changed following the meeting with f Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
