After a shocking retirement from ODI captain Tamim Iqbal on Thursday, the Bangladesh Cricket Board confirmed that Litton Das will be leading the team in the remaining two ODIs against Afghanistan on July 7. Litton has also emerged as a favorite to lead Bangladesh in the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup 2023 but reports suggest that ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is a frontrunner to captain the team in the mega tournament in India.
Litton, 28, has already featured in 180 international matches and has captained Bangladesh across all three formats but only as a stand-in skipper. As a vice-captain, he was entitled to lead the team in Tamim's absence. He led Bangladesh against India in the ODI series in December last year and recorded memorable 2-1 series win at home. He also guided Bangladesh to a dominant win over Afghanistan in a one-off Test last month in Shakib Al Hasan's absence due to injury.
Tamim shocked the cricketing world by announcing a sudden retirement from all forms of cricket on July 6. With the ODI World Cup only three months away, it has been a big blow to Bangladesh's preparation. Shakib has all the experience of leading the team and is tipped to take over the ODI captaincy role as well.
However, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hasan held an emergency meeting on Thursday evening to discuss the next course of action. After the meeting, he confirmed that Litton will captain the team in the remaining ODIs against Afghanistan but the board will request Tamim to reconsider his decision.
"If he [Tamim] does not play vice-captain (Litton) will run the show and Litton is there as vice-captain," Nazmul Hasan told reporters. "We want him to return after changing his decision and he did not resign to us, rather whatever we are hearing, was said in the media."
