'It'll be great for the team if Test captaincy is in hands of Shakib'

Mominul Haque is no longer able to bear the pressure of leadership and wants to quit captaincy in order to focus on batting. Even before Mominul's announcement, the discussion about a new Test captain started. 

Shakib Al Hasan has been the leading contender and if the experienced cricketer gets the role, it will be very good for the Bangladesh team, said BCB director and national team director Khaled Mahmud.

In domestic cricket, Khaled Mahmud and Shakib have teamed up several times as coach and captain. As the team director, Mahmud has also seen him very closely. Therefore, the former captain of the national team believes that it will be great for the team if the leadership is in the hands of Shakib, who is full of experience.

There is a lot of discussion in BCB about the new Test captain. The matter will be raised in the board meeting on 2 June. Like everyone else, Khaled Mahmud is also waiting for that. Despite having a good relationship with Shakib, he didn't have a talk with Shakib about the captaincy. "I did not talk to Shakib about the captaincy," he said. "But we talk about other things."

"We talked a lot about Test matches even yesterday. His knowledge of the game is great. The way he can mix with everyone, I think if he gets the captaincy, then it will be very good for the team," he added.

The team director said, "Injuries and fitness are two big issues. Shakib is a very experienced cricketer. I think he enjoys Test cricket. The way he bowled in the two Tests is proof of that. I don't remember when Shakib bowled so much in Tests. We were afraid Shakib would not bowl much in the two Tests, but he has proved himself."

"Cricketers like Shakib should take the country to the next level," he said. "I think Shakib has always been the best with the ball although he couldn't do much with the bat [in the Test series]. He still wants to play cricket, for at least two-three years. As long as they (the senior players) play, they should do something to take Bangladesh to a higher level."

Shakib has not been a regular in Tests in the last few years. The left-arm all-rounder has played only five of Bangladesh's last 13 Tests. However, Mahmud thinks that Shakib wants to play Tests regularly now, "Shakib always wants to play Tests. I don't know why the word comes again and again that Shakib doesn't want to play Tests."