Bangladesh face possible all-round overhaul after forgettable World Cup

Bangladesh cricket is facing a possible all-round overhaul in the weeks following their forgettable 2023 World Cup campaign, ranging from a new captain for the upcoming Test series against New Zealand to Shakib Al Hasan having to take a call on his future. While Shakib had announced in a pre-World Cup interview that he would quit the ODI captaincy after the World Cup, the BCB isn't taking it as an official word.

"He had not informed us about leaving captaincy before the World Cup. We believed that [the interview] was not an official thing," Jalal Yunus, the BCB's cricket operations chairman, said.

Shakib, who is also Bangladesh's Test captain, was ruled out of the rest of the World Cup due to a fractured finger he sustained while batting against Sri Lanka. As a result of that injury, he will also be missing the two home Tests against New Zealand.

The BCB is keen for a full-strength squad for those Tests - the series starts Bangladesh's World Test Championship cycle for 2023-25 - but is not leaning towards naming Litton Das captain. In fact, the board seems unhappy with Litton, who took two breaks while the World Cup was being played.

He had first returned home to Dhaka a day after Bangladesh played Pakistan in Kolkata on October 31, before doing the same after the Sri Lanka game in Delhi on November 6. Litton was back in Pune, the venue of Bangladesh's match against Australia, only three days later.

ESPNcricinfo has learned that the general view among influential BCB directors is that Litton lost focus during the World Cup, although he was given both breaks on "humanitarian" grounds.

That potentially leaves Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mehidy Hasan Miraz as captaincy candidates. Shanto, who had led Bangladesh when Shakib had missed their World Cup game against India due to a quad injury, is also set to stand-in as captain for their final match against Australia, to be played on November 11.

As for Shakib's future in both Tests and ODIs, the BCB will be discussing it with him soon. Ahead of the World Cup, the comments on the ODI captaincy aside, he had even outlined his retirement plans, saying he would announce his retirement "after the 2025 Champions Trophy".

Meanwhile, there's also a lack of clarity about Tamim Iqbal's future in the Test side. He had missed the World Cup due to concerns with his back, and hasn't played in any of the four rounds of the ongoing National Cricket League, which is Bangladesh's premier first-class competition.

Thus, with Shakib and Tamim potentially absent against New Zealand, it would leave Mushfiqur Rahim and Mominul Haque as the only experienced batters, despite the BCB wanting to play a full-strength squad. The bowling unit's availability will largely depend on their fitness updates after the World Cup.