Bangladesh entrust a proven warrior for the Test captaincy
Bangladesh (Image Source: Twitter)
The rise of Bangladesh in world cricket has been an ever-evolving and inspirational journey. In the past decade, they have instated themselves as a force to reckon with on the world cricket map. One of the major architects behind Bangladesh’s rise has been their star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan.
In what comes in as the latest reports by Cricbuzz, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has appointed Shakib Al Hasan as the new Test captain of the team. Notably, this will be Shakib’s second run at the helm of the team in white jersey.
In his previous installment, Shakib captained the team in 14 tests, out of which his team won only 3. The winning percentage for Shakib was just 21.42. But it is still the highest for any Bangladeshi skipper.
The BCB was left looking for a suitable candidate for the role after Mominul Haque relinquished the captaincy role. Under Mominul, Bangladesh managed to win a historic test against New Zealand earlier in 2022. But after that, they lost two consecutive series against South Africa and Sri Lanka. Coupled with the results going southwards, Mominul himself was having a tough time with the bat in hand. All these led to pressure developing on the batter and as a result, he stepped down from the role.
While there were a lot of young names in contention for the role like those of Litton Das and Mehidy Hasan, if reports are to be believed BCB has trusted on their seasoned and experienced campaigner Shakib Al Hasan.
Speaking of Shakib Al Hasan’s Test career, he has represented Bangladesh in 61 matches in the longest format of the game. In these matches, he has scored 4113 runs at an average of 39.2. He has been more than handy with the ball picking up 224 wickets in the 61 matches at an average of 31.0. Although not officially confirmed, Shakib might be the perfect man to bring Bangladesh out of the current runt that they are in red-ball cricket.
