Batter Najmul Hossain Shanto has been appointed as captain in all three formats for the next year amid ongoing uncertainty over the availability of former skipper Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said.
Shanto, who led Bangladesh in a multi-format series against New Zealand in December, will be in charge of the side at the Twenty20 World Cup in the Caribbean and United States in June.
The Bangladesh captaincy has been uncertain, with Shakib stating he would leave the ODI role after the World Cup. The all-rounder was diagnosed with a retinal condition in his left eye last month.
The BCB said that they consider Shakib as their “first choice” to return to the role but uncertainty over his health prompted them to go for Shanto.
“We have elected Shanto as captain in all three formats,” BCB President Nazmul Hassan told reporters on Monday.
“We discussed the national team captaincy for the longest time in this meeting. We spoke to Shakib, who told us that his eye problem hasn’t gone away.
“We are not sure of his availability in the Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe home series. We also have to consider the T20 World Cup that’s coming up. Shakib is definitely our first choice. But we don’t want to stay in any uncertainty.”
Bangladesh will next face Sri Lanka, with the sides playing three T20Is, three ODIs and two Test matches in March and April.
