All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan named new Test captain of Bangladesh

All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has been appointed as new Test captain of the Bangladesh’s men national cricket team. After Mominul Haque’s decision to relinquish his post in a bid to focus on his batting, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has appointed Shakib Al Hasan as new-captain. Wicket-keeper Liton Das has been vice-captain of the Test side.

In 2019, Shakib Al Hasan was suspended for one year after failing to report the approaches made by bookies to fix cricket matches. Due to Shakib’s suspension, Mominul Haque was named Test captain of Bangladesh men’s cricket team. During Mominul Haque’s tenure as captain, Bangladesh won only three matches (including the historic Test match in New Zealand) and suffered 12 losses in 17 Test matches.

In his previous two stints as Test captain of Bangladesh’s men national cricket, Shakib has led the side to only three victories out of 14 matches played. His first tenure came in 2009 when pacer Mashrafe Mortaza was injured during the tour of the Caribbean. His second tenure came in 2017, when he replaced Mushfiqur Rahim as Test captain of national side.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Nazmul Hasan also confirmed the appointment of Shakib Al Hasan as Test captain of the national side. Besides Shakib, there were the two players who shortlisted for the role of the Test captain. It remains to be seen that how long Shakib Al Hasan can continue his role as Test captain of the national side. Recently, Shakib Al Hasan assured his commitments to play all three formats for Bangladesh.

After the ongoing series in West Indies, the Bangladesh men’s national cricket team will travel to Zimbabwe. Nazmul Hasan said that Shakib  has given his approval and is committed to represent Bangladesh in all three formats.

It will be interesting to how Bangladesh fare in the two-match Test series against West Indies.