Tamim Iqbal has been appointed as Bangladesh’s ODI captain as the former captain Mortaza stepped down from the role after the series against Zimbabwe on Friday. Mortaza finished his 5-year stint with the conclusion of the Zimbabwe series. BCB announced Tamim as captain after the meeting on Sunday. BCB President Nazmul Hassan didn’t confirm the tenure period of Tamim but he revealed that he would continue as long-term captain.
“After the meeting today, the board has unanimously decided that Tamim Iqbal will be Bangladesh’s ODI captain,” Hassan said. “He will be the captain for the long term as we have moved away from our decision to name another captain next year. We are not giving any guarantees, but he is our long term captain.”
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Former captain Mortaza won 50 ODI matches as Bangladesh made a clean sweep of 3-0 in series against Zimbabwe. BCB president Hassan praised Mortaza’s captaincy as the achievements would not have been possible without him as captain. “Now it is the time to shift the responsibilities to other’s shoulders” he added.
BCB has three names in its list for the next captain. The decision between Mahmudhullah, Tamim and Mushfiqur Rahim has also been discussed in some circles. Shakib Al Hasan, the all-rounder was also expected to return to international cricket after his one year ban. So his name also discussed in some circles.
“This is a massive honor for me. I thank the BCB for trusting me with this responsibility. I am aware that I have huge shoes to fill as Masrafe Bin Mortaza has been a true great for Bangladesh cricket and a model of inspiration as captain for me and all the cricketers,” Tamim said.
“The journey that begins now will get ups and downs. We all want the Bangladesh ODI Team to be successful and when we are victorious, it is a celebration for the entire nation. I hope the Board, the fans and the media will support me through the tough moments as well as during the good times”. Tamim also described the former captain as his “model of inspiration” and requested Mortaza to support him in good and bad times.
Tamim led the Bangladesh team as captain for 3 ODIs when Motaza was sidelined with the injury. But Tamim’s performance was poor in the series. Tamim became the first Bangladesh batsmen to score 7,000 ODI runs last week. Bangladesh’s next match will be a one-off game against Pakistan in Karachi on April 1.
