Before the unavoidable transition period, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) wants key players Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan to outline their future plans with the national side. The Bangla Tigers are going through tough times in the ongoing ODI World Cup failing to perform to the expectations of the cricket fans.
All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has previously discussed retiring from international cricket one format at a time. Bangladesh’s 2023 ODI World Cup encounter against Australia as well as the forthcoming two-match Test series at home against New Zealand will be missed by the skipper, who is now sidelined due to a fracture.
Speaking to Daily Star, Cricket operations chairman Jalal Yunus said that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) needs clarity about their roles in the team for the future and revealed that Tamim Iqbal is not prepared for the series against New Zealand because he has just been training for the past month.
“Shakib is unavailable [for the NZ series] due to injury. He has a plan and we need to be clear about it in terms of his leadership roles and what formats they [Shakib and Tamim] want to go ahead with.”
“Tamim informed us that he has not been training for the last one month. Since he has not worked out or done any preparations, he will not be available in the series. He will let us know about his next steps later.” Jalal Yunus said
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) are concerned about Litton Das’s “wavering concentration” both on and off the field, in addition to the dispute between them and the BCB’s injury issues. Litton has previously left the team twice during the World Cup for personal reasons.
Despite the concerns, he is still a possibility to captain the Test team against New Zealand, along with Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Najmul Hossain Shanto and the team is likely to be picked on November 20.
Under Sub-continental conditions, Bangladesh’s World Cup campaign has been a nightmare. They started the competition with a six-game losing record, and their victories have come against opponents from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.
With four points, the Bangla Tigers are now ranked eighth in the standings, and their spot in the 2025 Champions Trophy is still up for grabs and they will require to beat the five-time champions Australia to seal their spot for the marquee event in Pakistan.
