Mushfiqur unhappy with short-term appointment

Mushfiqur Rahim has strongly criticised the BCB for appointing him as a short-term captain, saying it would make it difficult for him to set goals and would affect future captains too. Mushfiqur was retained till the end of this year, which effectively means he will be in charge for only the home series against New Zealand in October - the rest of the season's international fixtures fall in 2014.

"I think this is the only cricketing nation that appoints the captain on a series-by-series basis," Mushfiqur said. "To be honest, it is very wrong for a cricketer. It is difficult to set a goal if you don't know for sure how long you will be a captain for. So in that way, it is very difficult to be a captain on a series-by-series basis. And it is not just for me, but for every future captain.

"The board isn't thinking long-term, so it doesn't matter if I think long-term or not. These five months actually amount to just one series. I will give my 100% as captain and player, and make sure the rest of the team does the same."

After he resigned from the post in May this year during the Zimbabwe tour, Mushfiqur was convinced to stay by BCB chief Nazmul Hassan. But there was apparently no discussion on the period he will remain captain.

This is, however, not the first time the board has resorted to series-by-series captaincy. Shakib Al Hasan had a long-running dispute after he was repeatedly given just one series to lead at a time. It almost led to his resignation in 2010 when he refused to lead until he was named captain for another year.

After Shakib was sacked in mid-2011, Mushfiqur was first given two series to lead in the same year. He was then named captain till the 2013 Zimbabwe tour. But the board has now returned to the one-series policy.

It is expected that Mushfiqur will be asked to continue after the New Zealand series (as was the practice during Shakib's reign). Unlike Shakib, however, the incumbent captain has declined to take the fight to the board. "I can never discuss it [being captain till the 2015 World Cup] with the board. If they recognise me as a good enough leader, they can tell me. Whether I would do it then is another matter.

"For the benefit of Bangladesh cricket, the captain must be given a longer term. It will happen in the near future, I hope."