Veteran Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batsman and former captain Mushfiqur Rahim has on Monday (November 23) openly admitted that he isn’t interested in leading the national team in the future after the rumors of him throwing his hat in the ring for captaincy.
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has managed to bring competitive cricket back to the country with the BCB President's Cup and the board had asked Mushfiqur alongside Mahmudullah Riyad and Tamim Iqbal to lead the three respective teams.
But surprisingly, he denied the role by saying the opportunity should be given to the youngster since he doesn’t have any chance to lead the Tigers in the future.
The BCB president Nazmul Hasan had said of his decision: “Mushfiqur is not ready to take up captaincy and he has informed us. So we have decided that the three teams will be Tamim XI, Mahmudullah XI, and Nazmul XI. Mushfiqur will be in one team but he will not lead the side.”
Meanwhile, the 33-year-old's decision to captain Beximco Dhaka in the Bangabandhu T20 Cup came as even more surprising for many and it gave more fuel to the rumors.
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But the gloveman has made it clear that “there is no chance of him leading” Bangladesh at the highest level and he took the role only upon the franchise's insistence by saying it would be better than the young players take responsibility for the future of the Bangladesh cricket.
Mushfiqur clarified, “I feel there is no chance of leading the national side. They (BCB) feel that there are some young players and if they are given a chance (captaincy) in the future it can be beneficial for them. In the national team and in the other teams there are a lot of young players and since I'm not interested in leading the national team, I feel they should be given the chance.”
He signed off by saying, “I think the more they (young players) take responsibility the better and it will help them to be more responsible. In this tournament (Bangabandhu T20) the franchise (corporate house) thinks that I am the best person to guide the team and that is why I have taken up the captaincy.”
Noteworthy, Beximco Dhaka will lock horns against Minister Rajshahi in the opening game of the Bangabandhu T20 Cup at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on November 24 (Tuesady).
(With Cricbuzz Inputs)
