Bulbul hints at backing away from three-captain stance

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) may be moving away from the policy of having three separate captains for three formats, the board president Aminul Islam Bulbul hinted today.

"There is no hard and fast rule that there must be three captains," Bulbul told the media during the third ODI between Bangladesh and West Indies in Mirpur on Thursday.

The BCB president had previously stated in an interview that, considering the number of matches taking place, having three captains was more suitable. The policy was executed when Mehidy Hasan Miraz was named ODI captain in June this year, with Najmul Hossain Shanto and Litton Das in charge of the Test and T20I roles, respectively. However, Shanto relinquished the Test captaincy soon after, leaving the position vacant since.

Bulbul mentioned that when they discussed the issue of having three different captains earlier, the "advantages outweighed the disadvantages" in favor of having separate captains for each format. The president, however, said yesterday that while the board would still prefer a similar stance, they will also "see the best available person who can do this job."

"It could be one person doing all three, one person doing two, or one person doing one job. It depends on some discussions," Bulbul added.

Bangladesh are scheduled to host Ireland for a two-Test series in November, and given that Shanto relinquished the Test captaincy, Litton may now become an option for the Test hot seat, with Bulbul suggesting that the candidate who fits the benchmark will be appointed quickly.

Other Developments

*BCB will hold the Bangladesh National Cricket Conference on November 9 and 10 with participation from 64 districts and eight divisions. A councillor, district cricket officer from the DC office, district coach, and a female coach from any sport in the district will attend from each district. During the conference, the board will share its vision for cricket decentralisation.

*BCB is in favor of keeping separate batting coaches for each format. The BCB president said they are also looking to bring in a psychologist.

*BCB is drawing up a contract with the sports marketing agency IMG. Sources said there are still ongoing discussions between the board and the agency regarding the extent of IMG's involvement in the upcoming Bangladesh Premier League. Although most of the agreements are in place for a three-year period, given the short time frame, IMG's involvement for just the upcoming season is under discussion.