Mehidy 'interested' in Bangladesh captaincy as Shanto steps down

Star all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz has expressed his interest in leading Bangladesh in the T20 format. This development emerged hours after Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Faruque Ahmed officially declared that they are looking for a new captain in T20I cricket as Najmul Hossain Shanto desired not to lead the side in the shortest format.

According to a Cricbuzz report, Litton Das was the frontrunner to replace Shanto as the T20 skipper. This was after the wicketkeeper-batter had led Bangladesh to a historic series win against the West Indies in the Caribbean. The Bangla Tigers whitewashed Rovman Powell's men by a 3-0 margin in Kingstown, St Vincent last month.

Faruque said that Bangladesh will take their time before announcing the next captain in the shortest format as they don't play a T20I in the next six months. He also mentioned the management's concern with Litton's batting form but hopes that he will be able to get back to his best before they take the call regarding the new captain.

"Shanto went out of the team because of injury and if he comes back he will come back as a captain (in Test and ODIs). He informed us that he is not comfortable as T20 captain and we are thinking of someone else in that position. As we have T20 after six months it is not an immediate issue and we can think about it later so we can wait for it," Faruque told reporters at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Friday.

"I always think that there is no relation between cricketing brains to do captaincy and form but if a man is not in form for long time then it is a matter (of concern). Though he (Litton) could not come to form as a captain he did really well and this is a big virtue of a captain that his individual performance is not affecting his captaincy. I hope he will return to form quickly and when we will talk about captaincy he will be a front-runner," he said.

Meanwhile, Mehidy, who is leading Khulna Tigers in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) said that he is willing to lead his nation in T20 cricket. He led Bangladesh in the Test and ODI series against the West Indies in an interim capacity in the absence of the injured Shanto.

"Look T20 (captaincy) is totally a decision of the board and the one thing is that because I am leading in the BPL and if the board feels they will give me, or they have a better (option) like Litton Das did well in captaincy in the series against West Indies and the team also did result, so the decision is entirely depended on the board but yes because I am leading in the BPL it is becoming a habit, and it will help me in the future," he said.

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"Not only in T20 but in any format if the opportunity comes (to lead the side) it is becoming a habit and coming to lead out of nowhere is difficult and that happened in West Indies like I had to lead suddenly because Shanto was sick and it was difficult for me but for a long time or in a tournament like BPL where I am leading I know that I will be leading in 12 to 14 games and I can plan accordingly. It is difficult to do captaincy coming out of nowhere," he added.