The Daily Star was told by sources inside the team management that Liton Das is on track to be selected vice-captain for the one-day international series against Afghanistan.
It’s possible that the decision was somewhat forced by what had occurred during head coach Chandika Hathurusingha’s press conference on Monday afternoon. During that conference, he had suggested that there was no shortage of leaders in case Tamim Iqbal was ruled out of the ODI series, just as he had been before the lone Test against Afghanistan in Dhaka last month. This was similar to what had happened before the lone Test against Afghanistan in Dhaka.
Tamim Iqbal has been dealing with a back ailment, which is what caused him to miss the one and only test match. After making his way back to the ODI series camp after his absence, he shown indications of pain when fielding during a practice before the Eid holidays. Tamim did not exhibit any symptoms of discomfort when batting in the nets after the squad relocated to Chattogram and began their second day of practice at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. In fact, he did not show any signs of discomfort at all.
Despite this, injuries have been a consistent challenge for the captain of the one-day international team. There does not seem to be any cause for fear over Tamim’s participation in the series, according to sources inside the team management. Nevertheless, it is a truth that his circumstance is being carefully followed at this time. When the captain complains of back discomfort, the medical department of the BCB plays on his sympathy by telling him he may take some time off to recover.
The media inquired about the skipper’s health the day before the first match of the one-day international series against Afghanistan. It was confirmed by Hathurusingha that Tamim was being watched, but Hathurusingha declined to reveal the specifics.
“I’m not going to disclose anyone else’s medical history here, but Tamim has worked out for the last two days, and he seems to be in terrific shape so far. We are keeping a careful eye on his progression as well as how well he recovers after each session of training. During the press conference, the head coach shared the information that “He is training as usual.”
The job of vice-captain is one that is often considered to be unofficial within the context of the squad. However, in the event that the normal captain sustains an injury, the vice-captain steps up to fill the job of captain. Hathurusingha was of the opinion that there were other leaders who could fill in as captain in a pinch.
“I believe that [the matter of the back-up captain] is an important one for selectors to consider. Indeed, we have a good number of men who have served as captain in the past. Recently, in Shakib [Al Hasan’s] absence, we had Liton captain in the Test match that we played. In the past, Mushy (Mushfiqur Rahim) and Shakib have held the role of captain. Hathurusingha said that “we have enough leaders so selectors will make the call close to the game if it [Tamim being ruled out due to injury] happens.”
It’s possible that this is a hint to the captain of the ODI team that they don’t have to shoulder the responsibilities of leadership on their own if there are other people available. Tamim was absent for the series against India in December of the previous year, and his performance upon his comeback against England was unremarkable. He also had trouble scoring runs against Ireland in Sylhet, and he didn’t start scoring again until the very last one-day international against the same opponents in Chelmsford, and even then, he wasn’t at his most fluent level. Therefore, in addition to assuming leadership responsibilities, Tamim has to get back into top physical shape well in advance of crucial events.
“It’s quite clear that Shakib won’t be a vice captain. According to a source close to the squad, discussions over a vice captain are geared toward the far future.
In the middle of all of the discussion around the second captain, Hathurusingha dropped hints that Mohammad Naim may be in the running for the opening position. “Whenever we get an opportunity, we want to give him a game,” he added. “We want to give him a game whenever we can.”