Following the sudden retirement of Bangladesh skipper Tamim Iqbal, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has appointed Litton Das as the new captain. Das will lead the team against Afghanistan in the remaining two ODIs as interim skipper. BCB President Nazmul Hassan announced the decision at a hotel in Gulshan on Thursday night.
He also expressed his displeasure with the manner in which Tamim declared his retirement from international cricket. Before naming a regular captain, the BCB will wait for Tamim to reconsider his retirement. Meanwhile, it is known that Litton will just be a stopgap captain for the remainder of the series, and Shakib Al Hasan is the frontrunner to become captain of the ODI side, in addition to his leadership positions in Tests and T20Is.
Litton took over as ODI captain during India’s December 2022 tour of Bangladesh when Tamim was injured and led his team to a 2-1 series triumph. He also led Bangladesh to a Test-match victory against Afghanistan when Shakib was out with a finger injury in June this year. Litton has also led one T20I, a crushing defeat to New Zealand in Auckland in April 2021.
Tamim Iqbal is the highest run scorer for Bangladesh in ODIs
Tamim announced his retirement from international cricket in an emotional press conference on Thursday, a day before the second ODI against Afghanistan in Chattogram and barely three months before the ODI World Cup in India. “This is the end for me,” Tamim said. “I have given my best. I have tried my best. I am retiring from international cricket at this moment. Yesterday against Afghanistan was my last international game.
“It was not a sudden decision. I was thinking about the different reasons. I don’t want to mention it here. I have spoken to my family members about it. I thought this was the right time for me to retire from international cricket”, he further added.
It’s worth noting that in the ongoing ODI series, Bangladesh is trailing by 0-1 against Afghanistan. The visitors won the rain-affected game by 17 runs to take the lead.
