Afif Hossain has been made the vice-captain of the Bangladesh team for the Asia Cup. BCB informed this in a press release today. After some time, someone has been made co-captain in this edition of the tournament. Afif will work as Shakib Al Hasan’s assistant.
Since his debut in 2018, Afif has played 47 T20 Internationals for Bangladesh. The 22-year-old left-handed batsman has been one of Bangladesh’s best performers in recent T20s, which is one reason the selectors trusted him with the vice-captaincy.
Why Afif was picked as Asia Cup vice-captain
BCB filled the vacancy by appointing Afif as tournament vice-captain. The Bangladesh national team has been without a vice-captain for quite some time in all three formats. When Shakib Al Hasan was made the Test captain last June, Liton Das was given the responsibility of vice-captain in that format.
However, no one has been in this position in T20 so far. Nurul Hasan replaced the then T20 captain Mahmudullah in the last tour of Zimbabwe. However, Nurul got injured in the second match of the series and ended the series. Mosaddek Hossain officiated in the last match before the squad was announced.
A new captain was coming in T20, it was almost certain even then. Shakib is almost certain to be given the captaincy. But his deal with Betwinner made everything uncertain. At that time the BCB president said that there are four people on the possible list for the next T20 captain — Shakib, Mahmudullah, Nurul and Liton. He also said that one person would be made vice-captain.
However, due to an injury in the Zimbabwe series, Nurul is unable to play in the tournament. He was initially included in the squad but was later informed that he would need more time to recover.
Bangladesh’s schedule and outlook
Bangladesh’s Asia Cup will begin with a match against Afghanistan on August 30. The 2022 edition is being held in the United Arab Emirates in the T20 format, which makes Afif’s recent form especially valuable for the side. Fans will be watching closely to see whether the Shakib-Afif leadership combination can take Bangladesh deep into the tournament.
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