Mushfiqur Rahim not to keep wickets against Lankans

Mushfiqur Rahim, the captain of the Bangladesh team might not keep wickets in the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka. The move might come as a shock to many, but the fact of the matter is that he already has too much on his plate given the batting and captaincy responsibilities. Musfiqur would also be expected to bat up the order, something he has done in the past.

While it is widely expected that Liton Das would be his replacement, Khaled Mahmud stated that the decision to give up the keeping gloves was taken quite well by the skipper. He also went ahead and added that Kumar Sangakkara was perhaps one of those players who traversed the same path. Mahmud also added that Mushfiqur was the best batsman in the team at the moment.

“Mushfiqur may not keep in the Tests against Sri Lanka. He may bat up the order as well. We spoke to him during a team meeting yesterday and he took the decision quite positively. We spoke to him and we gave him examples of other batsmen, like Kumar Sangakkara, who did extremely well in Test cricket after quitting keeping,” team manager Khaled Mahmud told The Daily Star today.

“He is our best batsman and we want him to bat up the order. He understands that this decision is for the sake of the team and he took it sportingly,” he added.

Also read – Vijay Hazare Trophy 2017: Jharkhand skipper MS Dhoni left fuming over wicket

Mahmud also went ahead and added that Liton Das was being viewed as a potential replacement for the wicketkeeper position. “We will decide who Liton will replace after the practice match. We still have time for that,” said Mahmud, when asked about the upcoming batting combination.