Mominul set to step down

Bangladesh Test captain Mominul Haque has expressed his desire to step down from captaincy to the Bangladesh Cricket Board President Nazmul Hassan on Tuesday.

Mominul met Nazmul at his residence on Tuesday afternoon, and after the meeting, he told the media that he was not willing to carry on as Test captain.

“I said that I am not willing to carry on the captaincy. I would like to focus more on my batting,” he said.

He also said that the decision did not come under any sort of pressure.

“No, I was not under any pressure to take such an important call,” he told the reporters at Gulshan.

Mominul said he is failing to motivate the team while going through a lean patch.

“When I play well, I can motivate others despite the result not being in favour. But when I am not playing well and the team is also not doing well, it is pretty difficult for me to carry on as a captain. If I consider everything honestly, I think this is the time to give up the captaincy,” he told the reporters.

Since his 88 runs in the first innings of the Mount Maunganui Test against New Zealand, which Bangladesh won, Mominul has not scored a half-century in 10 innings. In his last seven innings, he even failed to reach double-digit figures. Mominul amassed only 24 runs in that period, and Bangladesh suffered at the top.

Mominul said he wants to focus more on his batting which will impact the team.

“I think if I can offload the pressure of captaincy and can focus more on my batting, then it will be helpful for me and also very helpful for the team,” said the left-handed batsman.

Mominul was appointed Test captain after Shakib Al Hasan was found guilty of having undisclosed conversations with a bookie and was banned from international cricket for a year.

He was then made captain overnight before the tour of India in 2019. Even his captain’s blazer was not ready before they left Bangladesh for India. Later, a journalist carried that to Indore, where Mominul first stepped in as a Test captain.

Mominul is one of the most successful batsmen in Tests for Bangladesh with the highest number of centuries, but since he took the armband, his performances saw a significant drop.

Mominul also said that giving up the captaincy was not a tough call for him.

“It was not a difficult call for me. Many such incidents have happened in the past. Many captains have done it in the past,” he said.

Due to his poor batting form, Mominul was feeling a bit of pressure which he denied a couple of times in the press conferences. But on Tuesday, he admitted that he felt some pressure.

“It’s not about me only. In my place, if there were some another big captain, he might have felt the same kind of pressure if he was not performing,” Mominul said.

Mominul also said that he did not name anyone as his successor.

“I have not suggested anyone’s name as the next captain. The board will decide who to appoint in the next board meeting on June 2,” Mominul said.