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The explanation given by the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s chairman of cricket operations, Najmul Abedeen Fahim, made it clear that Liton Das was not the ideal candidate for a captaincy role at the moment given his recent form, but the wicketkeeper-batter was the best option they had.

The 30-year-old was announced as the new T20 captain of the Bangladesh national team on Sunday until next year’s T20 World Cup. He has succeeded Najmul Hossain Shanto, who stepped down from the role after leading the side in 24 matches, including a World Cup.

Making Liton captain was a predictable move from the BCB, as he led the side against the West Indies in an interim capacity. All-rounder Mahedi Hasan has been named as Liton’s deputy for the forthcoming two series against UAE and Pakistan.

But as Liton has been going through a slump, especially in white-ball formats, one can question the decision.

Liton, who is currently under rehabilitation as he’s been recovering from a finger injury that prevented him from playing in the PSL, has been averaging just 11.36 in his last 19 innings across the formats after hitting a hundred against Pakistan in a Test in August last year.

He was dropped from the Champions Trophy squad. He then missed the Test series against Zimbabwe, as he was granted the NOC to play in the PSL.

‘In Liton’s case, experience is crucial,’ said Fahim. ‘We don’t have many experienced cricketers at the moment. There have been discussions about his form, but he has the potential. If he can organise his game, he’ll be a key asset.’

Fahim also mentioned that Taskin Ahmed wasn’t considered because the pacer would not be available for every match given his current fitness status. And as per chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz wasn’t their first-choice all-rounder in the format at the moment.

It’s true that they could have opted for someone like Towhid Hridoy, but the BCB opted to bank on Liton’s experience.

However, Habibul Bashar, who captained Bangladesh in 87 matches, thought that it was a good move by the BCB.

‘Liton has been playing for quite a long time now and has captained the side before,’ Bashar told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ·.

 ‘He’s one of our top performers. Moreover, he’s a wicketkeeper, so it’s relatively easy to understand the game from behind the wickets. I think he will do well.’

Bashar further stated that Liton’s form should not be a problem because captaincy is a completely different responsibility. But he insisted that Liton should be given support given the difficult nature of the job.

‘My point is, whoever the player is, may it be Miraz, Taskin, Liton or Shanto, if we start to find the faults after giving him the captaincy, then no one will be able to do well,’ he said.

 ‘We’ve done this with Mominul, we’re doing it with Shanto at the moment. It has become a trend, but it should not be. Captaincy is always a difficult job, but you need to support your captain,’ added Bashar.

‘If anyone is selected as a captain, it’s very important to support him. I hope whatever happened with the previous captains, we won’t do that with him,’ he concluded.