Bangladesh comes first, says Miraz, playing down talk of dressing room tension

Ever since Mehidy Hasan Miraz was handed over the ODI captaincy at the expense of Najmul Hossain Shanto, there were talks whether the Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) decision would create unrest in the dressing room. 

The tension aggravated when Shanto announced his stepping down from Test captaincy after the second and final Test in Colombo.

However, a day before the opening ODI of the three-match series against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Tuesday, Miraz brushed aside the matter, saying that there is no issue between the two players.

"There's been a lot of talk about the captaincy issue... it's being discussed a lot. But honestly, it doesn't really matter that much to us internally. As players, our job is to support the team and perform. When Shanto was the captain, I supported him a lot and performed as well. Those who were captains before also played, and it was important for them to perform too," Miraz told reporters.

"At the same time, there is one captain in the team, but ultimately, everyone has to play. And when everyone performs, the country does well, and the team gets good results.

"I believe that while only one in the team is captain, it's very important for everyone in the team to perform and support. I don't have any issues inside me about this, and neither does Shanto. For us, the team, Bangladesh, come first. I think that's what's really important," he added.

Miraz, meanwhile, said that they would be missing their senior players as Bangladesh are set to start life in ODIs without 'Big Five' since the last two of them – Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah – retired after the ICC Champions Trophy earlier this year.

Bangladesh last played an ODI without any of the 'Big Five' -- Mashrafe Mortaza, Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, and Mahmudullah Riyad -- in September 2005. That was 331 matches ago and coincidentally it was against Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa Stadium where the opening ODI will take place tomorrow.

"First of all, we will definitely miss the senior players. They have played well for our country for many years. Yes, we will miss them. It's natural, because at some point you have to retire. They have retired. There were good moments, but I think many new players have come in, and this is their opportunity. If they play well, then it's a great chance for them," said Miraz.

"Of course. We have enough time to prepare ourselves. This is a good opportunity for all the players. Yes, some young players have joined. This is a good opportunity for them to perform well in this format. We are looking forward to the World Cup. We have enough time in hand, let's see how everything progresses," he added.

Meanwhile, Miraz informed that the vacuum in batting left by Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah might be taken care of by Litton Das and himself while he feels that the series will be very important for them to get a direct place in the 2027 ICC World Cup in the African continent.