Litton Das appointed Bangladesh's ODI captain

Tamim Iqbal, the Bangladesh Cricket Board president, said on Wednesday that they have decided to appoint Litton Das as the ODI captain to get the most out of all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who was leading the side in the 50-over format.

Cricketlineguruji had earlier reported that Litton was expected to replace Mehidy as ODI captain as BCB was planning to have one white-ball captain.

Tamim, after completing his meeting with the board of directors at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium,insisted that they feel that they should go forward with two captains (white-ball and red-ball) while adding Bangladesh desperately needed the service of Mehidy as a player.

“We had three captains across the three formats. I believe, and the board also believes, that having two captains is the right way forward,” Tamim told reporters after the meeting.

“There is nothing right or wrong about either approach, but we feel two captains make more sense, one for white-ball cricket and one for red-ball cricket. That's why we've decided to appoint Litton Das as the white-ball captain, while Najmul Hossain Shanto will continue as the red-ball captain. Towhid Hridoy will be the white-ball vice-captain, while the red-ball vice-captain remains unchanged (Mehidy is currently the Test vice-captain),” he said.

“Miraz (Mehidy) has been a highly successful captain. He won four of the last five series he led. But I believe we need Miraz more as a cricketer than as a captain. As a performer, we're used to seeing him at a certain level, and perhaps there had been a slight dip. While he has been doing well with the bat, we feel there's still room for improvement in his bowling,” he said.

“I've made it clear that we value him more as a cricketer. The outside noise may have been affecting him. He did a good job as captain, but we want him to perform at his absolute best. Besides, we felt having two captains across the three formats makes more sense than having three different captains. In the future, we may even move towards having a single captain for all formats,” he said, adding that they have spoken with all concerned before taking this decision.

“There needs to be alignment between the white-ball and red-ball captains. I also spoke personally with the vice-captains, and everyone is on board with the process. No decision was taken without informing anyone or against anyone's wishes,” he said.

“Once Miraz gets back to his full rhythm, Bangladesh will win a lot of matches. I have spoken to him, and he understands that. We believe in having two captains so they can plan and prepare properly for their respective formats. After the Zimbabwe tour, I met with the coaching staff and the players and asked them to come up with a six-month plan,” he said.

Under Mehidy, Bangladesh played 20 ODIs, winning 10. His tenure began with Bangladesh losing five of the first six matches and dropping two consecutive series. The team then found form, winning four straight series at home against the West Indies, Pakistan, New Zealand and Australia, before suffering an away series defeat to Zimbabwe.

Litton previously led Bangladesh in seven ODIs, including a 2022 series win over India, when Bangladesh won 2-1 in the absence of an injured Tamim Iqbal. He also captained the side in two ODIs against Afghanistan in 2023 after Tamim's sudden mid-series retirement, and again in two matches against New Zealand that year in the absence of Shakib Al Hasan.

Tamim added that the board will review performance on a six-month basis rather than making frequent changes. National cricketers and coaching staff members' performance will be evaluated during this time frame.

“We need to bridge the gap that has existed between the board and the players. We also want to move away from the culture of rewarding players only when they win a series and questioning them when they lose. After six months, we will review how much of the plan has been achieved. while it will be followed for committees as well,” he concluded.