Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim has said he does not want to quit the captaincy while the team is going through a bad patch, but the decision is ultimately with the BCB. Board president Nazmul Hassan had said last month “there is every possibility that in the future we will split the captaincy”, leaving Mushfiqur in a tenuous position, and Bangladesh’s performance in the West Indies did not help.
Bangladesh were whitewashed in both the ODIs and, later, the Tests on the tour. The BCB’s discussions came after the ODIs were lost 3-0, with some directors posing questions on Mushfiqur’s decisions on and off the field.
“It doesn’t depend on me, I have said it before,” Mushfiqur said. “It is hard to leave [the captaincy] when the team is going through a bad patch. The challenge is to return to the good days, and I hope I can do that before leaving the position.
“It is not my decision, but it is for those who have appointed me [to decide]. Whatever is good for the team, I will agree to it. There is always pressure on a player, regardless of captaincy. It is the board’s decision. If they think it [changing the captain] is good, then definitely.”
Mushfiqur’s contract runs till the end of Bangladesh’s 2015 World Cup campaign, so Mushfiqur was scheduled to be in charge for the Test and ODI series’ against Zimbabwe starting next month and then the World Cup. Should the captaincy be split before that, Mashrafe Mortaza has emerged as a candidate for limited-overs captain, especially after being put in charge for the Asian Games in Mushfiqur’s absence – due to his wedding. Mortaza had also led the side in two T20s earlier this year.
However, Mushfiqur said he needed more help get the team back on track. Central to that, he said, was allowing out-of-form players like Nasir Hossain, who made just 24 runs in the two West Indies Tests, and Shamsur Rahman – who got out in the 30s twice – a chance to play themselves back into form. He pointed to the cases of Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah, both of whom got fifties after extended fallow periods, through which they were persisted with.
“It would be unfair to a player if he is not given the minimum number of chances. We have to believe in him, which we are trying to do. Tamim had a lean period, so dropping a player isn’t always the best move. We are trying to back every player. Thankfully, Tamim has done well in this tour, so has [Mahmudullah] Riyad bhai. I think we should back some of our important players. Nasir was a consistent performer even a year ago. He still is, just that he had a bad tour.
“We will take the field with a winning mentality against Zimbabwe. I don’t think there is anything bigger than backing a player. Dropping him isn’t the solution. The toughest thing would be to bring him back to form. We will do that hopefully.”
However, Mushfiqur admitted that the batsmen lacked a sense of responsibility in the West Indies while the bowlers didn’t hold their intensity for long periods. “Teams don’t lose without a reason. I think we got out at crucial times. Bowlers failed to get us breakthroughs at important moments too. We couldn’t bowl well for long periods. Overall, I would say that we lacked in responsibility in both the Tests and ODIs, especially in our batting unit. We have to work more in this area.
“Everyone is accountable for a bad performance. It is not an issue with me. I have always maintained that when we do poorly, I should be held responsible. We didn’t get the results, but we will keep trying.”
