Litton Das - (Source: AFP)
In a major breaking news story in Bangladesh cricket, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has officially named Litton Das as their new ODI skipper with just over a year to go for the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2027.
The leadership shake-up comes as part of the board's swift action in the wake of underwhelming results under outgoing skipper and allrounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
Litton Das named as new Bangladesh ODI captain
Just a day after the reports of a captaincy change circulated in the media, Bangladesh Cricket took to their social media accounts on Wednesday evening to officially announce Litton Das as their new ODI captain.
Notably, Das is a senior player of the team and has previously been Bangladesh's stand-in captain for the ODIs, while also taking charge as the full-time T20I captain between 2021 and 2026. He has also captained them in a solitary Test.
Litton Das will replace Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the role from the upcoming ODI series against South Africa, away from home in December of this year.
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Zimbabwe tour disaster causes stir in Bangladesh
Mehidy Hasan Miraz has been in charge of the Bangladesh ODI captain since 2024 and is also among the key starting XI players of their all-format setup.
However, despite the experience and leadership that Miraz brings, the recent Zimbabwe series proved detrimental to his ODI captaincy, considering he had already lost more than he had won as the ODI captain.
In the three ODI matches played in Harare from July 6 to July 11, Zimbabwe wrapped up the series in the first two games. In the first match, Bangladesh even failed to chase a 142-run target and were bowled out for 116, which was followed by a 13-run loss while chasing 248 runs, conceding the series 0-2.
They bounced back with a win in the dead-rubber ODI, but it was not enough for Miraz to retain his position. He ends his tenure with 10 wins and 13 losses in 24 ODIs as captain, while one match ended in a tie.
What is Litton Das’ captaincy record?
The 31-year-old Litton Das has proved his worth as captain whenever he has gotten a chance to lead the national team or the Rangpur Riders and Comilla Victorians in the Bangladesh Premier League.
He won the only Test he led in 2023 against Afghanistan and has 3 wins, 3 losses and a no result in 7 ODIs led as the stand-in skipper in 2022-2023. Before being relieved of his duties as T20I skipper, he captained 31 matches, won 16 and lost 14 from 2021 to 2026.
Heading into the World Cup year, it is a huge responsibility on Litton’s shoulders to avoid going to the Qualifiers, as only top-8 teams will get direct qualification in the tournament, and as things stand, Bangladesh is ranked number 9, behind Afghanistan.
In the coming months, they face South Africa in three ODIs amidst the Test season to end 2026.
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