Mehidy Hasan Miraz has been made the new captain of the ODI team. This 27-year-old dashing all-rounder has replaced Najmul Hussain Shanto, who has already left the T20 captaincy.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) confirmed this news on Thursday and a wave of excitement ran among the fans. Mehidy’s first challenge will be the three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka next month.
Mehdi is not a new face. He has previously led the team in four ODIs and two Test matches in Shanto’s absence. But now he has become the full-time captain, that too for the next 12 months.
Mehdi has scored 1617 runs and taken 110 wickets in 105 ODIs. Superstar Mehdi is at number four in the ICC ODI all-rounder rankings, which is the highest ranking for any Bangladeshi player.
Mehdi expressed his happiness on getting the captaincy and said,
“This is a great honour for me. I am thankful for getting the trust of the board. Our team is strong, we will play bindaas cricket and bring glory to the country.”
BCB’s Cricket Operations Chairman Nazmul Abedin Fahim praised Mehdi and said,
“Mehdi’s passion, amazing performance with bat and ball and his ability to unite the team make him a perfect captain.”
The board also thanked Shanto. Shanto, who captained in 13 ODIs, scored 564 runs at an impressive average of 51.27, but now he will focus on his batting.
During his time, Bangladesh won 4 matches and lost 9. Now with Mehdi’s arrival, fans are hopeful that the team will show new enthusiasm.
This decision is a new turn for Bangladesh. Earlier also players like Tamim Iqbal, Mominul Haque and Mahmudullah have captained in different formats. Now Mehdi is captaining in ODIs, Nazmul in Tests and Liton Das in T20s.
This news is no less than a treat for the fans. Will Mehdi’s explosive style and passion take Bangladesh to new heights in ODIs? Everyone’s eyes will be on Mehdi in the Sri Lanka series.
