Miraz’s moment: by vision, or vacancy?

In the midst of the commotion surrounding Najmul Hossain Shanto's sudden removal as ODI captain just before the Sri Lanka tour, Mehidy Hasan Miraz's elevation to the role quietly slipped under the radar.
Miraz was earmarked for captaincy since his days in age-level cricket, having led Bangladesh in the 2016 ICC Under-19 World Cup at home, a tournament where Bangladesh finished third and Miraz emerged as the player of the tournament.
In that sense, Miraz officially receiving the captaincy baton almost nine years after debuting for the Tigers may seem like the outcome of a well-thought-out plan of grooming the all-rounder for the role.
But in reality, the nature of his ascension was slapdash, as is the case for most captains in Bangladesh, and he was chosen for the role less for being the most deserving candidate but more for being the only viable option.
Miraz is set to officially begin his captaincy tenure in the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, starting in Colombo tomorrow.
The manner in which Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) sacked Shanto, with no warning and right before a tour, was questionable; though from a result-oriented approach, it did make some sense.
Under his leadership, Bangladesh returned empty-handed from the Champions Trophy campaign in Pakistan, suffering heavy defeats against India and New Zealand. That followed a 3-0 whitewash in the West Indies and a 2-1 series loss against Afghanistan in Sharjah.
A format which once used to be Bangladesh's strong suit turned into their weakness during Shanto's tenure, with the Tigers losing eight of their last ten matches and slipping to 10th in the ICC rankings last month.
Putting the blame for this downfall squarely on Shanto seems hardly fair, but in cricket, someone usually has to take the fall in bad times and often it ends up being the leader of the side.
Having already decided that Shanto had to be replaced, the next point of action for the management was to decide who would replace him -- and they went for Miraz.
At 27, Miraz is one of the more seasoned names in the side and a key figure in the ODI setup. Since 2022, he has been Bangladesh's fifth-highest run-scorer in ODIs with 1,191 runs, averaging 32.18, often batting at No. 7 or 8. With the ball, he has been even more crucial, taking 55 wickets -- second only to Taskin Ahmed in that period.
Miraz's recent ODI record establishes him as a consistent performer, which makes him a good captaincy candidate as he could lead by example. His pedigree as a leader, however, is not as impressive.
Miraz has led the ODI side as a stand-in skipper on four occasions and all of those matches have ended in defeats for the Tigers.
Not only that, all of those defeats have taken place in 2024, meaning four of the eight defeats Bangladesh have conceded in their last 10 ODIs have come under Miraz.
Still, the board kept their faith in Miraz over another candidate in the recently appointed T20 captain Litton Das.
While under Miraz, Bangladesh got clean-swept 3-0 last year in the Caribbean, Litton led Bangladesh to a 3-0 sweep in the T20s with astute captaincy.
But Litton's unpredictable form, which cost him his place in the Champions Trophy, coupled with the recent T20 series defeats against the UAE and Pakistan, worked against him -- leaving Miraz as the only option to replace Shanto.
But uncertainty looms -- both about team dynamics following Shanto's sacking and Miraz's role in the batting order. The bigger question now is whether Miraz can calm the storm or be swept away by it.
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