Last Updated on 3 years by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: Bangladesh reluctant to make Shakib Test captain | BCB President says Shakib must commit to Test cricket to become captain
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Nazmul Hasan is reluctant to let veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan take over the reins as the Test captain of the national team after Mominul Haque stepped down from the post following Bangladesh’s 1-0 series loss at home to Sri Lanka.
Nazmul explained to Cricbuzz that the BCB will sit with Shakib to ensure that he is available for the longest format. The 35-year-old has been reportedly non-committal of his long-term plans in the whites as he has missed multiple matches for Bangladesh in the previous few seasons.
Shakib along with Liton Das are said to be the frontrunners to become the captain following Haque’s relinquishment of the leadership role.
“Shakib can be a skipper in any format. But we need to know whether he will play or not (Test cricket regularly),” Nazmul’s official statement was quoted in a report by the aforementioned website.
He added, “If he says that he won’t go or choose a format then it will be a problem. Shakib was our skipper and there is no doubt about his captaincy. But we also need to be sure about his availability.”
Can’t make someone Test captain on a whim – Nazmul
Shakib had to actually give away the captaincy to Haque after the former was banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for not reporting a corrupt approach.
“He cannot make last minute decisions about his availability when he is the captain. We have to discuss with him first. We cannot make someone a captain on a whim and so have to take a well-thought-out decision,” Nazmul further told Cricbuzz.
Haque endured a horrid time as the Bangladesh Test skipper. The team won only three out of the 17 games he led them in but it included a historic away victory at Bay Oval against New Zealand in January this year.
“If he says that he won’t go or choose a format then it will be a problem. Shakib was our skipper and there is no doubt about his captaincy. But we also need to be sure about his availability.”
Nazmul Hasan.
Shakib has led the country in 14 Tests and the team emerged victorious in merely three of those games. However, he seems to be in a good run of form currently and even scored a half-century and took a five-wicket haul in the team’s last Test vs Sri Lanka at the Shere Bangla National Stadium last week.
