Bangladesh cricket team Test captain Mushfiqur Rahim has to give up his designated wicketkeeper position during the two-match series against Sri Lanka.
Liton Kumar Das will take over the role as specialist wicketkeeper in the Test squad.
Mushfiqur has been informed he will play the series as a specialist batsman, Bangladesh team manager Khaled Mahmud said to Espn on Thursday.
“The coach (Chandika Hathurusingha) and I have informed Mushfiqur officially (that he will play only as a batsman),” Mahmud told. “He is the best batsman in the team. He is in such form that we believe he will be able to give more to the team, which is why he will bat at number 4 and will not be keeping wickets. Mushfiqur has taken the decision positively, which is the best part.
“We gave him examples of Kumar Sangakkara and Brendan McCullum whose batting improved as soon as they gave up wicket-keeping in Tests. It is hard to play as wicketkeeper, captain and batsman.”
Liton kept wickets in the three Tests he played in 2015, against India and South Africa. The last time Mushfiqur was told to play as a batsman was during the 2016 Asia Cup T20s when he shared the duty with Nurul Hasan during the tournament at home.
With Mushfiqur now slated to bat at number 4 and Liton being confirmed a place in the XI, the team management will now have to decide between Mahmudullah and Sabbir Rahman in the middle order. While Mahmudullah has just struck his first Test fifty after a long gap, Sabbir hasn’t got a big Test score despite a promising start to his career.
