Shahriar Nafees Should Be The Next Captain Of Bangladesh

As the sun of Shakib Al Hasan’s captaincy set last week there has been a vacuum in the leadership post of the Bangladesh cricket team. It was not that Shakib was leading his men poorly or his personal form was found wanting but to the selectors it was his off the field egoistic attitudes turned out to be the main yardstick to cut short the captaincy regime.

By doing this Mostafa Kamal and Ijaz Butt now stands in the same platform to whom settling personal scores is more important than a team’s betterment. Things could have been solved with an open talk rather than sacking the men capable of leading the side.

Anyway, who is to replace Shakib is the talk of the town. The name of Mushfiqur Rahim is quite certain but still nothing has been declared officially. But according to me Mushfiqur Rahim is still too young to lead a side. The impetuosity of youth is still there in Rahim and it will still take at least five more years for Rahim to take heavy responsibilities on his shoulders.

In my view Shahriar Nafees can be the perfect person to lead the Tigers. Nafees in the past, before joining the ICL had served the vice-captain role and was being dubbed as the successor of Habibul Bashar Sumon. He had been the premium batsmen during the reign of Bashar and after returning from the ICL, Nafees is beginning to find his touch in course of time and he has been moderately consistent with the bat so far.

Nafees has a good communication skills and he is supposed to be a good man manger. Alongside being a well educated person, which helps, to become a classic captain, Nafees is a good student of the game of cricket. As far as I am concerned, Nafees bear a good knowledge on the game of cricket and he is a keen learner.

To become a cricket captain a captain needs to have a sound knowledge on the game, courage, skills and discipline and in view Nafees possesses all these qualities. Again, in terms of giving 100% for the team, Nafees’ name can be said at same breath along with Shakib Al Hasan.

Again, he possesses the fire in the belly to give it back to the opposition and does have the quality to hit back at his opponents with deeds rather than tall words. Though soft spoken but inside he has an iron like mentality which is what required to lead a side. 

Many might argue that Nafees has not been regular in the team but I can only say that before Graeme Smith being appointed as the captain of the South African side in 2003, his place too wasn’t regular but after being made captain he galvanized the South African side alongside polishing him-self as a top notcher in international cricket.

To find the perfect replacement of the charismatic Shakib isn’t easy but time and tide will not stop and Bangladesh cricket has to move forward.  And it will be better that the officials sitting at the top not get infected by the virus “Ijaz Butt.”  They must think deeply before declaring a captain for the Tigers rather than being whimsical.

 Captains are the vital cogs of a team. In hockey or in soccer they don’t have that important role like they possesses in cricket. So, it’s a must that the right person is being chosen who can handle the pressure and can manage things accordingly on the field.

To me Shahriar pass on all accounts as the next captain of Bangladesh cricket team. It’s my strong belief that he can be the perfect replacement of Shakib. He can galvanize the Tigers who are morally down at present.

It’s not Mushfiqur Rahim but Shahriar Nafees should be made the captain of the Bangladesh cricket team.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar