In place of regular captain Shakib Al Hasan, Liton Das will captain Bangladesh in their forthcoming one-off Test match against Afghanistan, which will start on June 14.
He was actually supposed to captain the team as the designated vice-captain, but confusion resulted when it was claimed in the media that the best batter at the time was hesitant to do the job in order to focus on his batting.
Both Liton and the club administration declined to confirm the information. But, Liton would have to captain the team in Shakib’s absence, according to Nazmul Hassan Papon, head of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), who made this clear in a program on Friday.
The talented all-rounder missed the Test due to a finger injury he suffered in Chelmsford earlier this month while playing in the ODI series against Ireland.
“Shakib was ruled out of the team due to injury and so very naturally Liton will lead the side since he is the designated vice captain,” Papon said in a programme, arranged by the Bangladesh cricket supporters association.
“As far as I know, Liton will lead the side. I don’t hear anything else in this regard.”
After Mominul Haque resigned as leader of the Test squad last year, BCB named Shakib and Liton as the team’s new captain and vice-captain. Liton is yet to captain the team in the longer format, but he did so during the three-match ODI series against India while Tamim was out with an injury.
Liton’s first series as captain was a memorable one as Bangladesh defeated India 2-1.
