It has been quite a busy day for Bangladesh cricket. First, a sixteen member team is announced for the upcoming Namibia and Zimbabwe tour. Second, Khaled Mahmud is dropped from the captancy as well as the Test squad. And last, but not least, Habibul Bashar is named the captain of the Bangladesh cricket team.
Above all, the most important news is that Khaled Mahmud has sent his resignation to the Bangladesh cricket board.
With only three days left for the start of the journey by the Bangladesh cricket team to Namibia, the time is very limited for the new captain. Everybody has welcomed the appointment of a new captain, but everyone also agrees to the fact of time limitation.
Habibul Bashar's first assignment is a very short trip, but could be very significant. It is true that the result of the matches in Namibia will not attract much media attetion because they are not going to be One day International matches.
But this will be Habibul Bashar's first assignmenst as captain, and he would want to come as victorious no matter what happens.
Bashar, let alone anybody else in the team is not familiar with the words pressure of winning much. Most of the time since the year 2001, the whole team had to play stronger oppositions and playing just good cricket was their main criteria.
They had first met with this demon of pressure last year during the last Namibia tour and then in the world cup 2003.
Everybody, including the team itself believes in the fact that they must win these matches, or else. And as we have seen from our previous experience, Namibia are quite capable of putting up a surprise. We were victims of such surprise twice in the last year. First was against Namibia in the practice matches, and then the second time in the opening match of the world cup to Canada.
We certainly do not need such surprises this time.
On the contrary, we would like to enforce such surprises on Zimbabwe, in both Test matches and in the five One Day Internationals.
It will not be an easy task for Bashar. We believe that he can do it, but only if he can work with others as a team. And as the print media has said, Habibul Bashar as a person, is very self-centered, does not talk with people much, and does not want to talk with others much. He said in different interviews that he can overcome this and be a successful leader, as he has always been successful in every task that he had to perform.
Only time will tell if he can be successful as a captain as well.