Dhaka, June 23: Bangladeshi cricket authorities have sacked the national team captain, an official said, 10 days after returning home to fans angry at an early exit from the World Twenty20 tournament.
“Mohammad Ashraful has been removed from the captaincy because of poor batting,” an official, who declined to be named. The 24-year-old middle order batsman bore the brunt of the blame for the team’s disastrous performance in the competition in England which saw them exit after the first round of play.
Fans gathered at Zia International Airport in Dhaka and chanted “resign, resign” to Ashraful, prompting him to publicly apologise for their poor play but he said he would not quit as captain.
His deputy Mashrafe Murtoza, a fast bowler, would be named new captain, the official said.
Bangladeshi Cricket Board spokesman Jalal Yunus told AFP an official announcement would be made on Tuesday.
Ashraful was appointed to the role two years ago but the team has failed to make an impact the world scene under his captaincy.
He replaced Habibul Bashar, a decade older than him, with authorities promising a “new era” of performance in the cricket-mad but under-performing South Asian nation, which got Test status eight years ago.
–Agencies