Announcing Shakib ODI captain hinges on 'ifs and buts'

It is now no secret that the Bangladesh Cricket, Board (BCB) wants Shakib Al Hasan as its captain of the ODI team given his experience, influence and performance.

The BCB president Nazmul Hassan Papon even said appointing Shakib as the captain is the easiest choice.

The BCB might make a U-turn by not announcing the name of the captain when they were supposed to do it after the emergency meeting yesterday but almost all of the directors present in the meeting made it clear they want Shakib as the captain in ODI format, a BCB insider said.

The name of Liton Das and Mehidy Hasan Miraz also emerged but it is clear that giving them the responsibility for a high profile tournament like World Cup could possibly backfire. Instead the directors want them to be groomed up under Shakib's leadership before taking the role for full time.

But the decision to announce Shakib's name hinges on some 'ifs and buts'. Shakib himself a few years ago suggested the BCB for split captaincy for different formats and at the same time, he opined that there should be separate captain for white ball and red ball cricket as it is tough for one single person to lead all format of cricket simultaneously in the modern cricket.

Shakib has already been leading the side in two formats-T20 and Test cricket so the question is raised whether he should be made captain in all formats of cricket.

While giving their vote for Shakib as captain, some directors also raised this question and emphasized on discussing with him regarding this matter at length. All of the board directors, however, requested the board president Nazmul Hassan Papon to talk with Shakib to resolve the matter.

Even though Cricket Operations Chairman Jalal Younus said the board would appoint captain for the Asia Cup only as every board is bound to name the Asia Cup team by August 12, the BCB indeed wants long term captain.

The 36-year old Shakib has not many crickets left and some other problems too. He of late has been busy with his business, social activities and others. Also his family resides in the USA and so he has to fly there regularly to spend time with them. In the last few years, Shakib missed some crucial matches also for his other involvement.

The decision to announce his name as ODI captain so was not straightforward. The BCB president in fact would discuss with Shakib if he wants to quit the captaincy from any format for ODI captaincy. The board wants Shakib to quit the Test captaincy as they want Liton Das to captain in this format.

Before discussing with Shakib, the board president also would sit with head coach Chandika Hathurusingha who reached Dhaka today.

Hathurusingha's input is also believed to be vital in this case.

Source: BSS