"I will talk with the board and there will be a discussion about it" - Shakib Al Hasan on his leadership future with Bangladesh
Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has stated that he will stage talks with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) over his captaincy as the Bangla Tigers continue to embrace a transition period.
Shakib was thrust into the captaincy role following Tamim Iqbal's short-term retirement, with the former leading the nation in the 2023 Asia Cup and the 2023 ODI World Cup.
Shakib is currently dealing with an injury that he sustained during the ODI World Cup in India, resulting in him missing the home and away series against New Zealand.
In his absence, Najmul Hossain Shanto led Bangladesh to their first white-ball wins in New Zealand recently and he has been vouched by head coach Chandika Hathurusingha as a genuine captaincy candidate.
Bangladesh and Shakib will have to resolve the lack of clarity surrounding the long-term captaincy responsibility, with the first major assignment of the year coming in the form of the 2024 T20 World Cup, followed by a tour of India.
"No discussion on it (national team captaincy) so far but I will talk with the board and there will be a discussion about it. Later a decision will be taken in this regard by everyone that will be best for the team," Shakib said after a training session on Tuesday.
Shakib recently secured a seat in the Bangladesh parliament after a victory by a landslide margins in the general elections.
The ace all-rounder also spoke about Bangladesh's expectations in the 2024 T20 World Cup. The subcontinent side finished fifth in their group during the previous edition in Australia after winning two matches, ending up below the Netherlands in the standings.
"Expectations are high every time and it will be the same this time too since we have been playing very well for the last one year in T20 editions. The team is balanced now and everyone is playing well and we played well in New Zealand and so expectations will be high. It will be played in the United States and West Indies where our cricket perhaps will be more suitable, so we will have a chance there," Shakib said
Bangladesh recently drew the T20 series against New Zealand by a 1-1 margin, away from home. The visitors had taken an early series lead but lost the third T20I after the second contest was washed out.
"It has been almost two and a half months out of the field" - Shakib Al Hasan on his injury
After missing out on the New Zealand series, Shakib Al Hasan is set to make his return through the 2024 Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). He will represent Rangpur Riders in the competition, which is slated to begin from January 19 onwards.
"It has been almost two and a half months out of the field. I could not do any work on fitness, couldn't do any work on skill. Naturally it will take some time to get ready and so I didn't want to waste any more time on that. I've started training but it will take a few more days. As I bowl with this finger (which got injured) naturally it will take some time but the progress is good," he said.
Should Shakib Al Hasan continue as Bangladesh skipper or is it the right time to hand over the duties to Najmul Hossain Shanto? Let us know what you think.