Shakib Al Hasan returns as Bangladesh ODI skipper for Asia Championship and World Series

Shakib Al Hasan has been named Bangladesh ODI captain for the second time in his career, and will lead them in the Asia Championship and World Series. Shakib is appointed at the helm following Tamim Iqbal’s resignation on August 3 after he was ruled out of the Asia Championship due to a back injury. 

Shakib takes over at a crucial time for the Tigers, with the Asia Championship followed by a ODI series against the Kiwis at home in September, before they fly to India for the ODI World Series commencing on October 5. 

Shakib Al Hasan is the captain for the Asia Championship, New Zealand series and World Series," he said. "We will speak more to him when he returns to Bangladesh [from Lanka T20 League]. We have to know his long-term plan. I spoke to him on the phone yesterday. But it is better if we talk to him in person since he is busy with a franchise league currently. We will also talk about which format he will keep leading, whether it is all three formats or one or two of them.

"There was never any confusion. I told you before. He is the obvious choice. Who else can lead? But we had to talk to him before appointing him. Nobody should think about anything else. Shakib is the captain. He was always the main choice."

Hassan further added that the Asia championship squad will be the same as the World Series squad. “They have just one spot open. We still don't know about Tamim Iqbal who is recovering from a back injury. We might trial one or two openers in the Asia Cup," he said.

Shakib for now is the captain for all three formats, having begun his third stints as T20I and Test captain last year. 

The all rounder has also led Bangladesh in 49 ODIs between 2009 and 2011, when he was first elected as captain, and won 22 of those games.  It was a periodical job for Shakib, who was basically essaying the stand-in skipper role in place of the frequently-injured regular skipper Mashrafe Mortaza. He later led Bangladesh in three more ODIs in 2015 and 2017, each time deputising for Mortaza. Shakib has thus far led Bangladesh in 19 Tests and 39 T20Is, and the most recent of his 52 ODIs as captain was in 2017. 

The change in captaincy comes following Tamim’s decision to step down as Bangladesh’s ODI skipper due to the uncertainty around his fitness as he rehabilitates from a back injury. 

While he is not a part of the Asia Championship that starts on August 30, Tamim is optimistic of staging a return for the ODI series against the Black Caps and the ODI World Series that follows. 

Tamim’s departure came less than a month after he reversed his emotional decision to call curtains on his international career. He had quit on July 3 but the very next afternoon, Bangladesh Prime Minister urged the seasoned cricketer to reverse his decision.