'He is not available': BCB chief to pick new ODI captain for Bangladesh for World Cup 2023

The Bangladesh cricket team has gone through a lot of ups and downs in the last few months. The Bangla Tigers lost their recent ODI series against Afghanistan and also lost their ODI captain Tamim Iqbal, who stepped down from the captaincy on August 3, 2023. The 'Men in Green and Red' will have a new captain for the Asia Cup 2023 and also the Cricket World Cup later this year. 

3 things you need to know 

• Bangladesh lost their last ODI series against Afghanistan by a margin of 2-1 
• Tamim Iqbal announced a 24-hour retirement from international cricket after a shameful loss in the first ODI against AFG 
• Litton Das led the team in the next two ODIs in Tamim's absence 

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Bangladesh Cricket Board is all set to pick a new captain for ODIs 

The Bangladesh Cricket Board will be picking a new captain in the ODIs, who will also lead the team in the upcoming Asia Cup 2023 and also the Cricket World Cup. BCB chief Nazmul Hassan said to the reporters on Saturday, that the team is looking for a long-term solution and if it would have been about one series, they could have gone with Litton Das, who is the current vice-captain. Hassan said: 

We have not discussed captaincy yet. We have to take a break and think about it. As I have said before, if it was one series, we could have gone with the vice-captain (Litton) but now we have to think long-term. 

Shakib Al Hasan first choice to lead Bangladesh 

Bangladesh cricket team all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan will be BCB's first choice to lead Bangladesh in the upcoming Asia Cup 2023 and also the ODI World Cup. Nazmul Hasan further revealed that Shakib will be an obvious choice to lead the team in the upcoming major ODI tournaments as they are not sure whether the new player will be able to handle the pressure on the world stage or not. 

There are two problems. If we think about the long term it is one thing. But there is the World Cup as well and the pressure of the World Cup is not small. If I select a new guy and whether he can take this pressure - we need to consider that as well. If we choose someone on a long-term basis and he is not available after one year, what will we do? So we need to discuss these things. Shakib is the obvious choice but can you say he will play for two years? We don't know that and so we need to know his plan and talk with the board. I think the easiest choice is Shakib and there is no problem with it. 

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Shakib Al Hasan is a world-class all-rounder and has also led the team in the past. He will be BCB's first choice in place of Litton Das due to his experience. On the other hand, Das is also not a bad option, as the player has been in good touch with the bat and his fearless nature can also benefit the team in the upcoming ODI Cricket World Cup 2023.