5 players who can take over the Bangladesh ODI captaincy from Mashrafe Mortaza

One can really call it an unfortunate thing that sporting achievements are only measured by numbers and records. This is the reason why it will be very difficult to analyze Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza’s contribution and influence in a cricket crazy country like Bangladesh. What MS Dhoni is for India is Mashrafe for Bangladesh.

As a player Mortaza has taken 78, 259 and 42 wickets in Tests, ODI and Twenty 20 while he has scored 797, 1,752 and 377 runs in the same order. The numbers are not too fancy. However, still, Mashrafe is the most iconic cricketer in the country despite not being a global star like Shakib Al Hasan or Mustafizur Rahman. He is the most successful Bangladesh skipper in the ODI format with 40 wins from 73 matches with a winning percentage over 50.

He has always given his best despite being injury prone throughout his career. Just like all the good things come to an end one day. Similarly, there is not much time left when Mashrafe will hang his boots. So, we look at 5 possible options who can replace Mashrafe Mortaza as the Bangladesh captain.

Tamim Iqbal

When we go to the flashback moments, almost every cricket lover remembers the match in the 2007 World Cup when a young Tamim Iqbal went berserk against the Indians and smashed Zaheer Khan over his head stepping out of the crease. Seeing that particular knock, people had an idea that the boy would do something special and he did not disappoint them by any means.

The attacking left-handed batsman has more than 6,000 ODI runs in 189 matches and he holds the record for maximum ODI runs for Bangladesh. Tamim has captained the Duronto Rajshahi, Chittagong Vikings and Comilla Victorians in Bangladesh Premier League. His imposing personality makes him a suitable candidate to replace Mashrafe Mortaza in future as a leader.

Shakib Al Hasan

Shakib no doubt is one of the biggest names ever to represent Bangladesh. Being a genuine all-rounder he is one of the vital cogs in the Bangladesh setup. He has performed consistently for quite some time now. The southpaw has scored 5,577 runs in 195 ODI matches and has taken 247 wickets too. He is at number two both in terms of maximum runs scored and maximum wickets taken for Bangladesh in ODI cricket.

The Jessore-born cricketer has captained the national side too and garnered 23 victories in 50 matches. Shakib over the years has evolved and matured both as a player and a leader. Making the top all-rounder the captain of the side again in ODI’s can be a wise option. The fact that he leads the team in Tests and Twenty 20 may also help.

Mahmudullah

Like Shoaib Malik, Steve Smith and many more cricketers, Mahmudullah also started his career as an off-spinner and later on converted into a batsman who could bowl handy off breaks. He is an important member of the current Bangladesh ODI team without a shred of a doubt.

He scored 2 centuries in the World cup 2015 including a match-winning 103 against England that helped his team to reach the knockout stage for the first time. In 171 ODI matches, he has scored 3,673 runs and taken 76 wickets too. He has captained Bangladesh in 5 Twenty 20 internationals and a few Tests as well.

While in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) he has captained the Chittagong Kings, Khulna Titans and Barisal Bulls with a winning percentage of a tad less than 50. Being a street smart cricketer, the Mymensingh-born can be a good choice to lead the side in the ODI format.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz

Mehidy Hasan had a tremendous start to his international career when on his debut Test against England he took a five-wicket haul. He is an off-spinner who is a decent enough batsman in the lower middle order. In his debut ODI against Sri Lanka in March 2017 in Dambulla, the tweaker took 2 wickets for 43 runs in his spell of 10 overs and the terrific performance impressed one and all.

In the 22 ODI matches he has played for the national side he has managed to pick 24 wickets and also has scored 212 runs with a solitary half-century. He has captained Rajshahi kings in 12 matches and has a winning percentage of 50. He is only 21 years old and the young age can work in his favour and just like Graeme Smith he could also be made the captain of the national team on a long term basis.

Mohammad Mithun

Mithun has been in the reckoning for many years but somehow he has not converted his potential into performance in the international circuit. A wicketkeeper-batsman with a flexible approach makes him the potential choice to represent Bangladesh in all three formats. He can alone be a part of the team as a pure batsman. In the recently concluded series against New Zealand, he was the lone man standing scoring 2 half-centuries in the 3-match ODI series. Both the knocks came in losing causes.

He has played 15 ODIs for his country scoring 360 runs with an average of 32.73 which included 4 half-centuries as well. Now seeing his talent it would be a calculative step to make him the skipper of the national side which could work in their favour.

To sum up, we can say that it is very difficult to replace players like Mashrafe Mortaza, but Bangladesh has a pool of players who have the necessary skill sets in them to be the future leader of their national side. Hopefully, Bangladesh cricket is in good hands now.

~ Written by Anshul Arora

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