3 reasons why Shakib Al Hasan should replace Tamim Iqbal as Bangladesh's ODI captain
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) should make a quick choice for a change of guard following Tamim Iqbal's decision to reliquish ODI captaincy just two months before the 2023 World Cup in India. The available options for the leadership role are nothing but wafer-thin.
Veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and Liton Das, who led Bangladesh in the last two ODIs against Afghanistan in Iqbal's absence, are front-runners to fill the big shoes with two marquee events in the pipeline — Asia Cup and World Cup.
In the same press conference where Iqbal announced to step down as ODI skipper, BCB president Nazmul Hassan named Shakib as the "obvious" choice for replacement, but also added that the board would like to understand the player's plans.
Let's look at three major reasons why Shakib Al hasan should take over the post of next Bangladesh ODI captain.
3 Reasons why Shakib Al Hasan should be Bangladesh's next ODI captain
#3 Nothing beats experience
Shakib Al Hasan has played 235 One-Day International matches from 2006 until the three-match series versus Afghanistan held at home last month.
Only Tamim Iqbal (241) and Mushfiqur Rahim (251) have played more matches than Shakib in the longer white-ball format. It is unlikely that Rahim, who has led Bangladesh in 37 ODIs in the past, will consider the skipper's role.
Shakib has captained Bangladesh in 50 matches between 2009 and 2017, having won 23 games. His win percentage of 46 is only the third-best behind Mashrafe Mortaza (56.81) and Iqbal (56.75) among all Bangladesh ODI captains (minimum of 30 matches as captain).
Shakib was also the captain of Bangladesh when the country jointly hosted the 2011 World Cup along with India and Sri Lanka. It will be an arduous task for an inexperienced skipper with two big tournaments scheduled back-to-back.
#2 Long-term association with the IPL to help read conditions in India
The surprising fact that Bangladesh has never played a bilateral ODI series in India even makes their experienced players like Iqbal and Rahim alien to the Indian subcontinent conditions.
Barring multi-nation Asia Cup and World Cup, the Bangladesh cricket team toured in 2019 to play two Tests and three T20Is, which happens to be their longest tour in their neighboring country.
Shakib Al Hasan has played 71 matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) across nine seasons, albeit he pulled out of IPL 2023 for Kolkata Knight Riders due to international commitments and personal reasons.
The 36-year-old has been acclimated to playing on the Indian soil for over a decade now. Meanwhile, Liton Das made his IPL debut last season only to play a single game. Shakib's familiarity to Indian conditions will help the team management make sound decisions.
#1 Uniformity in leadership across formats
Shakib Al Hasan is already the captain of Bangladesh's Test and T20I teams after taking over the reins from Mominul Haque and Mahmudullah respectively in the past year.
Bangladesh will follow the suit of their Asian rivals India and Pakistan to have one captain across all three formats if Shakib is named the ODI captain.
Although many countries have a split captaincy protocol in order to manage the player's workload, having one captain in each of the formats will only allow the team for a superficial vision to dominate world cricket.