Shakib al Hasan, Liton Das and Mehedi Hasan Miraz are the names up for discussion with regards to the vacant post of one-day international captain as the Bangladesh Cricket Board is set to sit for a meeting soon to decide on the matter.
The board is looking to name the Asia Cup squad by Thursday and thus a decision has to be reached soon.
The BCB has been put in a dilemma to find a new ODI captain just weeks ahead of the Asia Cup and couple of months prior to the Cricket World Cup.
The post went vacant after Tamim Iqbal last Thursday stepped down from the role, citing uncertainty of availability due to his lower back injury.
There are however, other stories too doing the rounds in the cricket fraternity – of how Tamim felt unwelcomed as the captain by a quarter in the BCB and the dressing room.
Hurt by ego and in order to protect his standing in Bangladesh cricket, the issue had initially triggered Tamim to retire from international cricket last month.
The country’s most successful opener though had to reverse his decision following the intervention of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The left-handed batter at the moment is recuperating and the timeline of his recovery suggested that it is better not to push him to play the Asia Cup and rather return with the home series against New Zealand in September, followed by the World Cup.
The situation is unique for the BCB.
Whereas the other participating countries of the Asia Cup and World Cup are putting the final touches to their preparation, Bangladesh has to hurriedly look for a new skipper.
The situation is a bit similar to that of England before the 2015 World Cup but that was a call of the selection panel to remove Alastair Cook and announce Eoin Morgan as the new captain.
The English side had failed terribly in that edition of the world event but four years later, in 2019, the Three Lions lifted the world title under Morgan.
Undoubtedly, BCB will have Shakib on top of the list of choices given the vast experience of the left-arm all-rounder.
Likely to be playing his last 50-over World Cup, Shakib – who already leads Bangladesh in Tests and Twenty20 Internationals – is considered as a fearless leader and the best tactical captain of the country.
He also has the experience of leading the country in a World Cup – in 2011.
There is however, a concern for the board over whether Shakib will accept the offer.
According to media reports, Shakib is unwilling to take the charge as there is almost no time in hand to prepare his team for the two major events.
“We have Shakib, Liton and Miraz as options to discuss. A skipper can’t be decided overnight, it has to come through a board meeting. We will have a meeting soon and make the decision. Shakib comes out on top because of his experience while Liton comes automatically as he is the vice-captain of the ODI team. Miraz is one name we are also considering bearing in mind he has played enough in the national side and has the experience of leading teams in the past,” said an influential director of the BCB requesting anonymity to Dhaka Tribune Saturday.
When queried if there has been any communication between the board and Shakib regarding captaincy, the BCB director informed, “Not sure how this is being discussed in the media but there has been no communication yet [with Shakib]. Like I said, the decision first has to come through a board meeting and then only can we go ahead in communicating with the players.”
When it comes to Liton there is a common opinion – the right-handed batter should not be entrusted added responsibility all of a sudden as he has been among the runs and ought not to be disturbed ahead of the major tournaments.
As deputy to Tamim, Liton till date has captained Bangladesh in five ODIs – three against India and two against Afghanistan – and won thrice.
Liton is considered as a leader for the future and in case Bangladesh fail to perform in the Asia Cup and World Cup under his leadership, that will surely damage his reputation going ahead.