NZ vs BAN: BCB Awaiting Shakib Al Hasan’s Response Before Making Captaincy Change

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has no clarity as to who will captain the team in the long run. Shakib Al Hasan currently is the skipper of the team as he took charge of the team ahead of the ICC World Cup 2023.

However, since the World Cup has concluded, Shakib Al Hasan hasn’t featured for the team in any of the assignments. The all-rounder has been nursing an injury, which he faced in the World Cup, and is yet to recover the full fitness.

Despite being injured, Shakib Al Hasan has shown an interest in politics. He is contesting in the upcoming general election and has missed two-Test series against New Zealand followed by the ongoing white-ball series against the Kiwis in their own backyard.

In Shakib Al Hasan’s absence, Najmul Hossain Shanto has captained the team and he has done a fantastic job. The Southpaw took the team to the Test series draw against New Zealand and also under him team won the first-ever T20I over the Kiwis in New Zealand.

With Shakib Al Hasan being away and Najmul Hossain Shanto doing a great job as a skipper, there have been a lot of speculations about who will captain the team. There have been several calls to give leadership to the latter but there’s no indication about that yet.

Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) chairman of cricket operations Jalal Yusuf opened up about the same and stated it’s a matter for the latter to decide if Shakib Al Hasan will be the captain of the team or not. He explained (as quoted by Daily Star):

“Look, whether Shakib [Al Hasan] will continue [as captain] or not is a matter for later.” He added that they still consider all-rounder as their skipper in all formats.

Will discuss it with him Shakib Al Hasan – Jalal Yunus

Jala Yunus further added that the decision to continue with Shakib Al Hasan as the captain of the team will be taken by the board. He added that they will discuss about the same with the all-rounder and after that only they will take any decision. He explained:

“The final decision as to whether Shakib will continue or Shanto will take over will be taken by the board. But obviously, we will discuss it with him [Shakib] and will try to know his stance regarding this matter. And only after that, we will be able to know who is going to captain the side in the long term.”

Shakib Al Hasan is expected to make a comeback to cricket soon. Currently, he’s undergoing rehabilitation after the finger injury. It remains to be seen what will be his future as the captain of the team.

Bangladesh currently are locking horns with New Zealand in the T20I series. They won the first game in Napier by 5 wickets. The second game between the team was washed off due to rain. The third game between the teams will be played on 31st December. It will be a great opportunity for them to win their first ever series against Kiwis in the shortest format of the game.