Bangladesh Cricket Board chooses Najmul Hossain Shanto as 3 formats

In all three formats, Bangladesh’s captain will be Najmul Hossain Shanto. CEO Shanto has been given a one-year term, as stated by BCB President Nazmul Hassan. At least in the T20I format, which Shakib Al Hasan was expected to reign until the next T20 World Cup in June, the news is unexpected.

Both on a white-ball tour of New Zealand and in the most recent Test match against New Zealand, Shanto led with distinction. With Shanto’s appointment, the BCB is changing its approach to provide some of the younger players with long-term leadership positions. The international teams still have Shakib, Mahmudullah, and Mushfiqur Rahim, but Shanto’s elevation to the position of 12-month captain indicates that the board is willing to let go of the highly regarded veterans.

Shakib was the BCB’s first option for captaincy in both formats, according to CEO Hassan, but after Shakib told them about an eye ailment, the board decided to go with Shanto. According to Hassan, they had to decide on the leadership immediately.

“We have selected (Najmul Hossain) Shanto as captain in all three formats,” Hassan declared at a crowded press conference on Monday after a board meeting in Mirpur. “During this discussion, we talked about the national team captaincy for a very long time. Shakib informed us that his eye issue is still there when we spoke with him. His availability for the home series against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka is unknown. We also need to think about the upcoming T20 World Cup.

“Shakib is unquestionably our top pick. However, we don’t want to continue to be unclear. We did not want to postpone making the choice. We had to choose a captain in order to manage the team effectively with the World Cup in mind.”

Prior to this year’s World Cup, Shakib had declared that he would relinquish the ODI captaincy following the major 50-over competition. In addition, he had made it clear that he was not likely to play in Test matches going forward but that he would like to captain the team in the T20 World Cup. In the previous 12 months, Shakib had assembled a formidable Twenty20 team, which included a victory over England.

After Shanto takes command, the team will play three Twenty20 Internationals, three One-Day Internationals, and two Tests at home against Sri Lanka in March and April of this year. Before leaving for the World Cup in the West Indies and the USA in June, Bangladesh is also expected to play five Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) against Zimbabwe, also at home.

New Chief Selector: Gazi Asraf

Gazi Ashraf Hossain, a former captain of Bangladesh, was also selected by the BCB as the senior men’s side’s main selector. His official start date will be March 1. Former BCB director Ashraf oversaw the BPL throughout its early stages. Hannan Sarkar, a different former player, was also added to the selection committee. He spent several years as a junior selector.

“He looked like the best option when we were creating a shortlist. We bided our time until he accepted our proposal. It wasn’t a topic of much discussion. We unanimously made our choice once he agreed with us, according to BCB President Hassan.

Minhajul Abedin’s eight-year tenure as chief selector comes to an end after the board chose not to renew his contracts, leaving only Abdur Razzak from the previous panel. Habibul Bashar, the former captain, also leaves as a selector.

In 2016, Faruque Ahmed resigned from his position as chief selector, and Abedin, the former captain of Bangladesh, took over. He was frequently criticized for letting the BCB CEO Hassan’s policy and a few powerful board members interfere with the hiring process. Bashar became a national selector in 2011 after quitting cricket in 2010. At the same time, Abedin also joined. Before joining the men’s selection panel again in 2016, Bashar served as a women’s team selector for a limited period of time.