Potential leadership void looms large

The process of preparing a future captain starts by grooming the relatively younger players into leadership roles, often as vice-captains, and train them to share responsibilities side by side with the experienced, senior cricketers so that they may evolve into future leaders.  

Interestingly, over the past few years now, the Bangladesh team do not have a vice-captain in any of the three formats which raises the question of who are the future leaders for the Tigers when the transition period finally arrives.

It is those five familiar faces -- Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Shakib AL Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, and Mahmudullah Riyad -- among whom the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) revolved around when it came to giving leadership roles over the last decade.

Mominul Haque was an exception although he was appointed as the Tigers' Test skipper only after regular skipper Shakib was banned from international cricket in 2019. His lack of exposure in the role prior to that appointment certainly made things difficult for him.

Captain of the Tigers' inaugural Test side, Naimur Rahman, thinks that captaincy is something that comes through a process and having a young vice-captain facilitates effective communication between the seniors and juniors in the side.

"We have actually discussed this issue unofficially and I have raised the topic in the past. It's very important for a captain to discuss various issues of the team with someone and the vice-captain is the ideal candidate," Naimur told The Daily Star.

"With the absence of younger players in such a platform the team discussion gets limited only between the senior players. Having a young vice-captain actually creates a bridge between the seniors and the younger players, who at times shy away from leadership responsibilities," the former national team captain added.

However, considering the current context of the Bangladesh team, the inconsistent display from the likes of Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das or Mohammad Mithun -- all of whom have played over five years already, has remained one of the biggest reasons for selectors of not entrusting them to follow the process.

Despite the setbacks, BCB did attempt to groom Najmul Hossain Shanto as a future captain through the high-performance unit but the left-hander failed to seize the opportunity.

Mehedi Hasan Miraz was also deemed as another prospect who showed potential when he led the Bangladesh Under-19 team to the semifinal of the ICC Under-19 World Cup in 2016, but he too failed to live up to expectations since making his international debut, although his recent form could make him the most suitable candidate.      

"Ideally there should be a vice-captain in the team but the fact is they have to be consistent performers, regular members at first. Disappointingly, we haven't got any despite trying a few players in the past," former captain and current selector Habibul Bashar said.

"We are still thinking about this and at the moment Miraz can be a good prospect. But from my experience you won't realise who can be a good captain until given the responsibility," Bashar added.