Shakib is still captain in all formats: Jalal Yunus

Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) cricket operations committee's chairman Jalal Yunus said that Shakib Al Hasan is still the national team's long-term captain in all three formats and the board expects him to resume as the skipper after recovering from injury.

"Shakib is still our captain. We have given the captaincy to Shanto [Najmul Hossain] for just two series against New Zealand," the BCB official told the media in Mirpur today.

Shakib had announced before the ICC ODI World Cup in India that after the tournament he would relinquish captaincy.

The all-rounder has been out of action since the World Cup owing to a fractured index finger and in his absence, Najmul Hossain Shanto led the team in a two-match Test series against New Zealand at home and will very soon take on the same opponents in an ODI and Twenty20 series away from home.

Although there weren't any official announcement, Shakib's pre-World Cup declaration and Shanto being given the reins in his absence, made it seem that the young left-hander might replace the veteran as skipper.

But Jalal dismissed such claims, saying that Shakib is still the skipper of the Tigers in all formats.

"As you all know, Shakib was given the captaincy for a long term. He is still our long-term captain in all three formats. Whenever Shakib returns, we expect him to be the skipper. There is no scope for any questions if he will remain as the captain in all formats. We consider him as the captain."