Since we are all worried about our next captain: Why not Shahriar Nafees?

[Ahmed_B]

We have talked a lot about who should be our next captain. Fans are in favor of Ashraful or Mashrafee because of their recent good performance. Some even want Saqibul Hasan or Tushar Imran or Mushfiqur rahim as captain. Some said Rajin would be good.

But it hasn't even been a year since we all had believed that Shahriar Nafees was a real captaincy material and a solid performer and also had the experience to lead the team quite well. Personally, I do find him to be the most suitable person to hold the position of BD captain. His way of playing and also facing the media hints a lot about his capabilities.

It's true that he is currently in his worst form... but I strongly believe that he is the kind of player who is capable of coming back from worst of times and in future he will be among BD's most successful achievers.

When we are talking about captaincy, its natural that we will have to discard the youngest players of the team...(eg. Saqib or Mushfiq). And among the mid-level experienced players, we can choose from Ash or Mashrafee or SN. The BCB might be thinking seriously bout putting Ash as captain... but personally I have doubts about his maturity and ability as a captain of an international side.

I would still have faith on Sahreer Nafees that he will soon find his form back... and would believe that he is our best choice as the next captain.

[Miraz]

The reason is simple, he is never performing against Quality oppositions and if he continues like this, his place is not certain in the ODI team.

You need a performer to lead the team who has got definite place, not a minnow basher.

[BangladeshCricket]

The thing whether his moral will let him even go for captancy after such a bad patch..he needs moral boosting, technique correction, and few good knocks to get back to that stage, then we can think about giving him captancy. Our new generation of cricketers not playing enough national leagues or even other forms of cricket where they will develop temperment of playing in big stages. All they do is practice in the nets and play shorter version to prepare for big games. But not sure who will be an appropriate replacement for Bashar. According to other sources and threads, Ash is going to be the captain!!!

[tanvir_nus]

No doubt he is captaincy material, but I just don't get what others find him in him that they find in Ashraful? Is it the experience, the talent, the maturity or handling the media? Please answer this question to me coz I would really like to know.

[Ahmed_B]

Originally Posted by Miraz
The reason is simple, he is never performing against Quality oppositions ......need a performer to lead the team who has got definite place, not a minnow basher.

I dare say...that the idea of SN being a 'minnow basher' is nothing but a popular concept in BC forum. He played 4 Tests against SL and 2 against AUS. Among the 12 innings that he played... his highest scores are:
Vs SL: 51, 27, 38
Vs AUS: 138, 33, 79

BD played almost all of their ODIs in 2006 against weaker teams . If I leave all his innings against thease teams...here are some of his ODI scores against stronger teams(before those innings):
Vs ENG: 47, 75
Vs SL: 39, 59, 21
Vs WI: 38

Before this WC... he played 15 ODI innings in total against stronger teams and those above scores are within those 15 innnigs. His other 9 ODI scores against these teams are within 20 runs... but is that a rare thing in BD team? Nops!

Despite all of his 4 ODI being centuries against Zims and Scots (well... who else even has that?!!)... I am absolutely confident that his bad WC form is temporary and he has ample abilities to be among the best of the BD batsmen.

[Miraz]

Originally Posted by Ahmed_B

I dare say...that the idea that SN being a minnow basher' is nothing but a popular concept in BC forum. He played 4 Tests against SL and 2 against AUS. Among the 12 innings that he played... his highest scores are:
Vs SL: 51, 27, 38
Vs AUS: 138, 33, 79

BD played ODIs only against weaker teams in 2006. If I leave all his innings against thease teams...here are some of his ODI scores against stronger teams(before those innings):
Vs ENG: 47, 75
Vs SL: 39, 59, 21
Vs WI: 38

Before this WC... he played 15 ODI innings in total against stronger teams and those above scores are within those 15 innnigs. I am absolutely confident that his bad WC form is temporary and he is ample abilities to be among the best of the BD batsmen.

Difficult to comment about test as he only played 4 tests. I believe he will be an asset in our test team in near future.

Now about the ODI, he played a total of 19 ODI's against top oppositions and have only two 50+ score.

If you have to show scores like 21, 38, 39 as his best scores, it's not difficult to imagine what are his worst scores.

Anyway, I am very much optimistic about him and I believe in near future he will rectify his mistakes and will score consistently against all oppositions.

His current form is not good enough to retain vice-captaincy as his place in the team is a bit uncertain and we are in the process of changing the captaincy of ODI team.

Timing is not right for SN.

And finally, averaging near 50 against weaker oppositions and averaging 12+ against top oppositions is definitely a sharp contrast. Isn't it?

[sadat_04]

I also think he is quality player, but he could use a break. Its not about the numbers he put on during the world cup but I would say it was his batting style, he did not look comfortable at all, he looked as if he was playing cricket for the first time...I did not expect it from him and I think its fair that he sits out for India tour. Too bad!

[Ahmed_B]

Originally Posted by Miraz
His current form is not good enough to retain vice-captaincy...

My guess is that he lost his place as VC simply because BCB has put Ashraful as VC for the future plans they have to put Ash as captain. SN will probably be brought back as VC as soon as Ash replaces Bashar.

[cricket_dorshok]

Ahmed bhai, till before WC SN was the unique choice of VC and most probable replacement of Bashar. No body cared or questioned when he was given the vice-captaincy. Rather everyone applauded his captaincy material and was expecting him as a future captain. Only one series (read WC) changed the whole scenario. I wonder what people (including BCB, SN was captain of a official 20/20 match against ZIM) will say if SN does every good against India and Ash does opposite. Will BCB make SN captain and retain Ash as a VC (consering Bashar retairment from ODI after this series!!!

[Ahmed_B]

Originally Posted by cricket_dorshok
Only one series (read WC) changed the whole scenario. I wonder what people will say if...

This is exactly why I simply don't go with the wind saying SN is a minnow basher and he is not the best choice. Among fans... one good series makes someone hero.. likewise.. one bad series makes him a devil. The game simply doesnt work that way. If you (not just fans, but also ex-coaches and selectors) have very high judgments about someone, it does mean he must have something specifically of a high caliber. And if someone loses that faith on him just within one series... it must be said that something is definitely wrong with the later judgment.

[tonoy]

I totally agree with Ahmed's opinion. I think BCB just jumps into decisions without even thinking about it. And for those who think SN is a minnow basher, well if he only scored runs against the minnows, then why cant the other also score runs against the minnows. I mean its not like ashraful didnt get a chance to bat against the zim. A century is a century regardless of the opposition because it requires heavy concentration and focus which most of our players lack.

[tonoy]

I bet you this, If Ashraful makes 3 ducks in the series and SN comes back to form, then SN will become the Captain. ANd this is really a bad thinking.

[Aritro]

There are going to be a lot more good players coming through the system in the next couple of years. Nafees will need a shift to the middle order and a lot of remedial training in terms of footwork before we can consider his place in the side to be assured.

Until then, I think it'd be foolish to award him the captaincy.

I also used to disagree with people who alleged he was a minnow-basher, but his World Cup performances have shut me up. His footwork was ordinary even on his best days against Australia and Sri Lanka and it was downright atrocious during his worst ones in the World Cup.

He still might come out alright though. Beautiful timer of the ball and a very mature head on his shoulders.

[Kabir]

I agree with Ahmed bhai here. If SN bounces back, they'll make him the captain looks like. But I think what BCB suffers from is pure indecision. SN's been the choice for a long time, and now that he just had a bad WC, they're changing their mind. Ashraful got millions of chances, and he wasn't dropped.

However, I do think they still have SN on mind, may be for some time later. But right after the series, they'll try to stick with Ashraful and give time to SN to get his form back.

[WarWolf]

Originally Posted by Kabir
I agree with Ahmed bhai here. If SN bounces back, they'll make him the captain looks like. But I think what BCB suffers from is pure indecision. SN's been the choice for a long time, and now that he just had a bad WC, they're changing their mind. Ashraful got millions of chances, and he wasn't dropped.

However, I do think they still have SN on mind, may be for some time later. But right after the series, they'll try to stick with Ashraful and give time to SN to get his form back.

I have enough faith on SN and think he is a real captain material. But i think Ash won't be left behind as a captain. What we need seriously now is to give a rest to SN. He needs a break to reground himself.

[Miraz]

Originally Posted by Kabir
I agree with Ahmed bhai here. If SN bounces back, they'll make him the captain looks like.

This is a pure speculation without any hint from BCB or selectors or media.

Ashraful is made vice-captain for a long term prospect and he is an experienced campaigner of 7 years in International cricket. I don't think BCB will be going for any knee jerk reaction in only 3 ODI.

SN lost his vice captaincy due to a prolonged dryness in runs against top teams, WC failure was the last nail in the coffin.

IMO, if SN performs consistently in the Sri Lanka and India series, he should be made the vice-captain with Ashraful as the captain, although that might not be a good combination as there are some issues between SN and Ash/Aftab. Anyway, I hope everything will be alright for the sake of the country.

[imran78]

i still am not convinced Ash is the right choice for a captain. what has he done apart from captaining some club teams? there are more negatives to him being a captain than positives. he is prone to play rash and completely idiotic shots at the worst times of an innings and comes up with good scores once or twice a year. a captain is supposed to lead by example. god help the BD team if he is the example for other BD players.

sure SN is not in good form but we should have kept faith in him until at least after the India series. he scores very consistently and is capable of playing a long innings. one bad patch of form shouldnt be what it takes for somene like Ash to jump in and become a long-time captain for BD.

[Miraz]

Originally Posted by imran78
i still am not convinced Ash is the right choice for a captain. what has he done apart from captaining some club teams? there are more negatives to him being a captain than positives. he is prone to play rash and completely idiotic shots at the worst times of an innings and comes up with good scores once or twice a year. a captain is supposed to lead by example. god help the BD team if he is the example for other BD players.

sure SN is not in good form but we should have kept faith in him until at least after the India series. he scores very consistently and is capable of playing a long innings. one bad patch of form shouldnt be what it takes for somene like Ash to jump in and become a long-time captain for BD.

Well SN has never captained any side except the 20-20 match against Zimbabwe. He expressed some good thoughts to the media and we all are convinced that he is a much better choice than Ashraful?

Apart from captaining club sides, Ashraful also have first class captaincy experience when he captained Dhaka division in the NCL.

He is an experienced player of 7 years and he have progressed significantly over the last one year in which he is averaging near 40. At the same period SN declined and have almost no score against top teams and you are still convinced SN is a better choice?

[AsifTheManRahman]

well i would have liked SN to remain VC for at least the india series. the world cup might just have been a bad patch, because he's never really looked so out of sorts against any opposition before.

ash will be a good captain one day, but my only concern is that it might just be too early for him. maybe we should let him settle down with his new found consistency/maturity first.

[Hatebreed]

Both Ashraful and Mashrafe are proven performers against quality opponents, they are fairly experienced and they both played significant roles in some of our major success. Some think Mash is a bit superstitious/choker, etc, so Ash is a sensible choice for his success under pressure and previous experience as domestic captain.

I had a lot of faith in SN, but his poor run of form has made me change my mind. Ultimately, I only want what's best for the team. It's not too late for him to turn things around, but for now I think BCB made the right decision.

[Miraz]

Originally Posted by AsifTheManRahman
well i would have liked SN to remain VC for at least the india series. the world cup might just have been a bad patch, because he's never really looked so out of sorts against any opposition before.

ash will be a good captain one day, but my only concern is that it might just be too early for him. maybe we should let him settle down with his new found consistency/maturity first.

After 7 years in international cricket it's too early for Ash? and after only 1 year in international cricket SN was right choice (when he was handed VC)?

Noooooo!! you have to come up with a different logic. It's not early for Ash by any standard.

[AsifTheManRahman]

Originally Posted by Miraz
After 7 years in international cricket it's too early for Ash? and after only 1 year in international cricket SN was right choice (when he was handed VC)?

Noooooo!! you have to come up with a different logic. It's not early for Ash by any standard.

7 years hok r jai hok...Ash er matha mutha to majhe moddhe kharap howe jaay ga...

[imran78]

Originally Posted by Miraz
Well SN has never captained any side except the 20-20 match against Zimbabwe. He expressed some good thoughts to the media and we all are convinced that he is a much better choice than Ashraful?

Apart from captaining club sides, Ashraful also have first class captaincy experience when he captained Dhaka division in the NCL.

if i am not mistaken SN was our under 19 captain. he was also tipped by McInnes as a future test captain. I put a lot of value to his comment and I am pretty sure he knows what kind of mental strength and strategic mind it is required to captain an international cricket side. international cricket is a far cry from club cricket.

I would have liked for him to remain the vice captain for this series and try to get his form back. If he still fails in this series in home condition then I would think about giving him a break from the national team and make someone else the captain.

[Miraz]

Originally Posted by imran78
if i am not mistaken SN was our under 19 captain. he was also tipped by McInnes as a future test captain. I put a lot of value to his comment and I am pretty sure he knows what kind of mental strength and strategic mind it is required to captain an international cricket side. international cricket is a far cry from club cricket.

Unfortunately you are wrong. Nafis Iqbal was U-19 captain for a brief period but SN was never our U-19 captain.

Yap everything is theoretical as per his speeches and you can definitely trust him.

Ash has done something on the field as a Captain and I have to mention again not only in club level but also in First Class level which is the immediate level before international cricket.

[Murad]

bhai.. Nafees er place niye koi din por dekhben tana tani choltese... we have a lot of opening batsmen in the Academy team and A team...who are waiting to get into the national team... and they are much much better than Nafees.. their techniques are much higher than nafees.... some of them can even bowl...

if nafees cant score much in the next series. u will see he will be droppped from the squad for the next series against Srilanka... and a new player will take his place...