In Mirpur, board head Nazmul Hassan Papon will lead a meeting where the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will make some important choices, such as who will be the new ODI captain.
As things stand, star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is in the best situation to lead the Tigers’ ODI team. On Saturday, Papon said that putting Shakib in charge would be the “easiest choice” given the upcoming Asia Cup and the ODI World Cup in India in October and November.
Sources say that Papon and other board members will talk to Shakib, who is the captain of the Test and T20I teams, about the situation today. They will ask him what he thinks about being in charge of the ODI team as well, since Tamim Iqbal quit last week.
Today, coach Chandika Hathurusingha is also due back in the country, and the Sri Lankan is likely to be at the important meeting.
We also found out that the judges are likely to announce the preliminary group of 20–22 players today, before announcing the main team for the Asia Cup.
Liton Das, who keeps wickets and bats and is the vice captain of the ODI team, was also considered for the job of captain. But it was learned that the board is still worried about giving the player the responsibility of leading the team in big events like the Asia Cup and the World Cup. This is because the player hasn’t been very good over the past year.
Aside from the command problem, the board will also talk about who should be the team director for the future events. According to reports, former Bangladesh captain and BCB director Khaled Mahmud Sujon may be considered for the job again.
The board is also expected to talk about adding Mahmudullah Riyad, who has a lot of experience, to the team for the next big events.