Shakib named T20I skipper for Asia Cup and T20 WC

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Saturday announced Shakib Al Hasan the skipper of the T20I side till the next T20 World Cup, slated to begin on October 16 in Australia.  The decision came following a meeting today. 

The all-rounder will also lead the Tigers in the Asia Cup, scheduled to begin on August 27 in the UAE, and the tri-nation series between Bangladesh, Pakistan and New Zealand in October as part of the build-up to the T20 World Cup. 

The decision comes just two days after Shakib was made to rescind his contract with Betwinner News -- a sister concern of betting site Betwinner. 

The all-rounder, who was in hot waters for his controversial sponsorship deal with a betting site, arrived in the country earlier today from the USA and was present at the meeting with BCB officials and the board president Nazmul Hassan Papon at the BCB president's residence in Gulshan. 

"Shakib has been named the captain for the tri-nation series, T20 World Cup, and the Asia Cup," BCB cricket operations committee chairman Jalal Yunus said to the media. 

Jalal also added that the board had stuck to its original plan of naming Shakib as the successor of Mahmudullah Riyad, who was stripped of captaincy from the format last month. 

"In our previous meeting, we had decided to name Shakib as the T20I captain. So we decided to stick to our original decision," Minhajul added. 

Jalal also said that the BCB president said that Shakib made a mistake by signing a contract with Betwinner News and that the cricketer said not to repeat any such mistakes in the future. 

"The board president was present at the meeting. He said that Shakib got himself endorsed with Betwinner News thinking it was some online news portal. It wasn't the right decision. After we explained the thing to Shakib, he understood that he made a mistake and said that he has come out of that contract. 

"The logic [behind making him the captain] is that Shakib is still our best cricketer. We own him. He is not someone from outside the board or the country. Since he said that he made a mistake, we are hoping that....he was told not to repeat any such mistake in the future. He too said that he won't," Jalal said.      

Following the meeting, BCB chief selector Minhajul Abedin Nannu also announced a 17-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup, which will be played in the T20 format.