Captaining the star-studded Mohammedan Sporting Club in the ongoing Dhaka Premier League (DPL) was probably the last thing Towhid Hridoy expected to do this year.

Veteran Tamim Iqbal led the big-budget team in the first eight rounds of the league before suffering a major heart attack during the match against Shinepukur Cricket Club at the BKSP in Savar on March 24.

Tamim fortunately survived the heart attack but will require a few months to recover from the incident, ruling him out from rest of the DPL season.

With Tamim not in the picture, the captaincy baton was expected to be handed to an experienced player like Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim or Mehedi Hasan Miraz.

However, Mahmudullah has some injury concerns as Mohammedan could avail his services in only two games thus far while the latter duo is expected to represent the national side in the upcoming two-Test series against Zimbabwe and won't be available for Mohammedan after April 9.

Thus, the coaching staff and team officials decided to name in-form batter Hridoy, who has made 266 runs this season so far at an average of 88.66, their skipper for the rest of the season.

As Mohammedan was preparing to take on Prime Bank Cricket Club in a high-voltage match scheduled today in Mirpur, Hridoy was asked about the challenge of captaining the side after their practice session yesterday.

The 24-year-old, who has captained age-level teams and also the 'A' team, relished the unexpected opportunity and was eager to take the challenge.

"I have captained age-level teams and also the A team. Sometimes these things are not in your hands. The responsibility was handed to me by the team and I have to respect to it. As a professional player, one has to take the challenge," Hridoy told reporters at the National Cricket Academy premises.

"Every sector has its own challenge. I will try to enjoy my role and try to contribute as much as possible in this department [captaincy]," he added.

Although Mohammedan are the highest spenders in the current edition of the DPL, things have not panned out exactly how they would have liked so far.

Mohammedan currently stand third in the points-table with 12 points from eight matches, trailing leaders Abahani Limited by two points and matching second placed Gazi Group Cricketers in terms of points but falling behind them in net run rate.

Mohammedan will begin a crucial phase in their campaign as they are set to face top sides like Prime Bank Cricket Club (fourth), Agrani Bank Cricket Club (fifth) and table-toppers Abahani in their next three matches and they still need at least two victories to earn a place in the Super League phase.

On top of that, the absences of important members have left Mohammedan in a vulnerable spot. But Hridoy remained optimistic and claimed that the vacuum created by these absences was an opportunity for their bench players to step up.

"We need to adjust to the situation and do whatever is best for the team. It's a big-budget team. Probably, a few players will leave for national duty. But it's a positive sign for our back-up players as they are also players and they also need to get opportunities," said Hridoy.

Despite regularly featuring in both white-ball formats for Bangladesh, Hridoy is yet to make his Test debut. The batter is unlikely to get that opportunity in the Zimbabwe series as well as selectors have hinted they are unlikely to experiment with the squad against Zimbabwe.

Still, Hridoy, who averages 45.65 in first-class cricket, spoke about his dream of representing Bangladesh in Tests one day.

"Every player wants to play Test matches. It's a dream for me to play in the red-ball format. If I get the opportunity, I will definitely play. Just like any other player, I also want to play in this format. If I can do well in the domestic red-ball matches, hopefully then I will be able to play for the national side."