Mashrafe: Shakib best person for T20I captaincy

Bangladesh ODI captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza believes Shakib al Hasan, who is currently the skipper of the T20I side, is the best man to succeed him in the shortest format after his retirement from T20Is. The Tigers are having a difficult time in their South Africa tour as both the Test and ODI teams did not perform according to expectation, succumbing to heavy defeats. Bangladesh have entered a new era as this is the first time they will have three different captains in as many formats. Test captain Mushfiqur Rahim and ODI skipper Mashrafe’s duty as a skipper has finished and it was not a happy experience for them as the team put in some below-par performances. Both bowling and batting failed to shine and only three half-centuries were scored by the Bangladesh batsmen in the Test match series while Mushfiq blasted a century in the ODIs.

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Now it is turn for Shakib to lead the side and inspire them to a good performance in the two-game T20I series. Mashrafe said Shakib is a champion cricketer and that he is the best man to lead the side at the moment. “Shakib is the best person for the job. It is going to be a new series, after the Tests and ODIs. If we can be positive in the T20Is, we can do better, although it is looking increasingly difficult at the moment,” Mashrafe said after the ODI series finished at Buffalo Park in East London Sunday. “There’s nothing to test Shakib’s character. He is a champion cricketer. There’s no point putting him under any pressure. We have not been up to the mark in this tour so far, and it’s been four weeks. If we can play as a team, we will have a chance,” added Mashrafe.

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Also read: Bangladesh enter new era in T20Is Thursday

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South Africa tour is usually considered the toughest for sub-continent teams as recently Sri Lanka were whitewashed in both the Test and ODI series a few months ago. Mashrafe thinks Bangladesh can pull off a win in the T20Is as anything can happen in the shortest format. “Sri Lanka won a T20I here, despite losing the Tests and ODIs. They might rest a few players and if we can play to our potential, it might be possible,” said Mashrafe. Newly appointed skipper Shakib has played 59 T20Is for the Tigers, scoring 1208 runs and taking 70 wickets. He is currently the No 1 all-rounder in T20Is according to the ICC ranking. In 2017, Shakib has made 109 runs in five T20Is and took five wickets.