Litton replaces Miraz as ODI captain

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Tamim Iqbal confirmed at a press conference in Mirpur on Wednesday that Litton Das has been appointed ODI captain, adding the 50-over format to his T20I captaincy and replacing Mehidy Hasan Miraz.

Miraz had led Bangladesh since 2024, taking over from Najmul Hossain Shanto. Under his leadership, the Tigers won 10 matches, lost 13 and tied one in 24 matches. He boasts a winning percentage of 43.75, the third-best among Bangladesh captains to have led the team in at least 10 matches, behind Mashrafe Mortaza (58.13) and Shakib Al Hasan (44.26).

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Litton, meanwhile, has often stepped in when the regular captain was unavailable. He has led the Tigers to three wins, three losses and one no-result in seven matches overall.

Miraz's removal had seemed increasingly likely, with questions over whether he was the right man to lead Bangladesh into the 2027 World Cup, should the Tigers qualify.

Indeed, Miraz boasts an impressive record at home, leading Bangladesh to four series wins. On the flip side, his away record is equally damning, with Bangladesh losing just as many series, including defeats against Afghanistan and Zimbabwe.

Litton has been handed the captaincy until the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. 

Tamim said the board was already impressed by Litton's leadership qualities and believed the transition would be seamless, given his success in the T20I hotseat. He said the decision was also in line with the board's policy of having two captains -- one for red-ball cricket and another for white-ball cricket.

Miraz's individual performance was also another concern.

Since taking over as captain, Miraz has seen a dip in form, particularly with the ball. Although his batting average has improved, his bowling average has risen from 35.66 to 39.50. He has, however, taken 24 wickets in 24 matches as captain.

“I believe that we should have two captains and the board believes that well in red-ball and white ball. Litton will be white-ball captain and [Nazmul Hossain] Shanto will continue as Test captain,” Tamim said on Wednesday.

“Miraz was an exceptionally successful captain and won four of the last five series. But I believe, we need Miraz more as a cricketer. The level we are used to seeing in him as a performer, I believe there was a lacking in that level,” Tamim said, adding that Bangladesh would win a lot of games if Miraz returned to his rhythm. He also said the decision had been discussed with Miraz.

“The reason I am not in favour of three captains is the injuries recently to fast bowlers. Every captain in each format wants to play their best fast bowlers and we had to face such situation with three captains,” he added, explaining why the BCB wanted to move away from having three captains across three formats.

Tamim also said the board wants the team management and captains to have six-month plans.

“Sometimes there are distance between players and the board. From now the cricket team will have plans and the board will align with those plans,” Tamim said.

The BCB president also explained why Litton was chosen to take over the ODI captaincy.

“We are quite impressed with his leadership quality. The way he looks into cricket and plans…and he has been playing ODIs for a number of years and the T20I team also did very well. So we considered these things when taking the decision,” Tamim concluded.