A lot will be at stake in the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) meeting today with the issue of split captaincy likely to rule the roost.
Veteran paceman Mashrafe bin Mortaza, leading Bangladesh in the 17th Asian Games, is all set to be named the leader in one-day internationals with opener Tamim Iqbal and all-rounder Shakib al Hasan also in the running. Regular skipper Mushfiq, who skipped the Asiad due to his wedding engagements, is likely to retain his captaincy in Test matches.
BCB president Nazmul Hasan earlier on Thursday said the board is planning to name different captains for Tests and ODIs, starting with the upcoming home series against Zimbabwe.
The BCB supremo hinted that Mashrafe is the frontrunner for the ODI captaincy, however, due to his injury concerns, Tamim and Shakib’s names have also been discussed.
Nazmul said a decision will be taken regarding this issue in order to reduce the burden on Mushfiq, who is one of the leading batsmen of the side alongside being the wicket-keeper. “Mushfiq is now the best batsman of the side and he is also the captain and the wicket-keeper which is difficult. And we should reduce some pressure from him and we think he should quit the captaincy from a format and that will benefit him and also the cricket of our country,” Nazmul said yesterday.
The BCB chief also spoke about Shakib’s ODI captaincy prospects with the all-rounder returning to competitive cricket action recently after serving his reduced three-month ban due to indiscipline. “You cannot change the behaviour of a person overnight but we have observed some changes amongst the players. We are thinking about the [2015 ICC] World Cup and we do not want to make too many changes as we need experience in Australia and New Zealand,” he said.
Meanwhile, another major issue which will come up in today’s meeting is the assessment report of the national side’s poor performance in the West Indies recently. “One of the top priorities of tomorrow’s (today’s) meeting will be the assessment of the recent West Indies tour as you know the coach [Chandika Hathurusingha] already submitted a report. Akram Khan will also give a report on behalf of the cricket operations committee and we will also get a report from Naimur Rahman, who also went to the West Indies [as one of the BCB delegates],” added Nazmul.
The board will also discuss about the shuffling of individuals in various committees of the cricket board. Chief among them is likely to be the selection of Naimur in place of Akram in the cricket operations committee.
It was also learned that following AZM Nasiruddin’s appointment as the new vice-president of the BCB, the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis is likely get a new chairman in Hanif Bhuiyan, who is currently the chairman of the medical committee.
The issue of the Dhaka Premier League clubs replacing the divisional teams in the upcoming National Cricket League and the planning a short home series against Pakistan prior the World Cup will also be discussed.
