Shakib named Test captain

Star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was made captain of Bangladesh's Test side for the third time and wicketkeeper-batter Liton Das was named his deputy following yesterday's meeting between Bangladesh Cricket Board officials at the BCB headquarters in Mirpur.

The decision to hand over the Test captaincy came on Tuesday after Mominul Haque announced his intention to step down from the role to focus more on his batting after an extended lean patch with the bat.

Shakib's first assignment as Test skipper will be the upcoming tour of the West Indies, which features two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is. Coincidentally, the first time the all-rounder was put in charge of the Test side was in 2009, also on a tour of the West Indies, after then skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza suffered an injury.

Shakib continued as Test captain till 2011, leading Bangladesh in a total of nine Tests in his first stint. He was then reappointed for the role in 2017, replacing Mushfiqur Rahim and, interestingly, his first assignment was once again a tour to the West Indies in July 2018.

That two-Test series, however, ended on a sour note for the Tigers as they suffered heavy defeats in both the matches and were bundled out for a paltry 43 in one innings in Antigua -- their lowest total in Tests till date.

Shakib's second stint as the Test skipper came to an end in 2019 when the ICC imposed a ban on the all-rounder for failing to report corrupt approaches from a bookie.

Now 35, he has once again been entrusted with a leadership role in Tests, which will start with yet another steep test in the Caribbean.