Bangladesh Cricket Board Delays Announcement of New ODI Captain, Asia Cup Squad Decision Pending
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) faced a setback as they were unable to announce the new captain for the men’s One Day International (ODI) team following an emergency meeting of the board directors. The meeting, held on Tuesday, failed to reach a concrete decision on the matter. The news has been met with disappointment among cricket enthusiasts, who were eagerly anticipating the announcement of the preliminary squad for the upcoming Asia Cup.
Jalal Younus, the chairman of the cricket operations committee, revealed that the responsibility of appointing the new ODI skipper for both the Asia Cup and the World Cup later this year has been assigned to BCB President Nazmul Hasan. The board president will engage in discussions with all the candidates in the coming days before making an official announcement, which is expected to happen by Saturday.
Explaining the delay, Jalal said, Some of the potential candidates were unavailable as they were participating in franchise leagues. While we could have held discussions over the phone, there are certain intricacies we need to address. We want to ensure that whoever assumes the captaincy takes on the responsibility for all three formats or at least two formats. Due to these unresolved issues, we have decided to entrust the task to the board president, who will engage individually with the candidates and make the announcement accordingly.
The ODI captaincy position has been vacant since Tamim Iqbal stepped down due to injury concerns last week. Among the frontrunners for the role are Shakib al Hasan, Liton Das, and Mehedi Hasan Miraz. Shakib, the current Test and Twenty20 captain, is the favored choice to replace Tamim, with BCB Chief Nazmul expressing his support for the esteemed all-rounder last Saturday.
Liton, who previously served as Tamim’s deputy and led the team to a historic series win against India last year, is also being considered, along with Mehedi Hasan Miraz.
With the Asia Cup being the immediate focus, the selection of the captain for this tournament takes precedence. The deadline for submitting the Asia Cup squad falls on Saturday, prompting the BCB to announce both the captain and the squad before that date. However, there is more time to announce the captain for the World Cup, as the squad submission deadline is September 5th.
As the preparations for the Asia Cup intensify, Bangladesh finds themselves placed in Group B alongside Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. In Group A, Pakistan, India, and Nepal will compete. Bangladesh’s campaign kicks off on August 31st with a match against Sri Lanka in Kandy.
Anticipation continues to build as fans eagerly await the announcement of the new ODI captain and the squad for the upcoming Asia Cup. The cricketing world will be watching closely to see who takes on the mantle of leadership for Bangladesh and leads them to glory in the upcoming tournaments.
