Mohammad Ashraful's captaincy

Mohammad Ashraful

Mohammad Ashraful (Bengali;born 7 July 1984) is a Bangladeshi international cricket player and has represented the Bangladesh national cricket team. A top-order batsman with a penchant for flashy strokeplay, he has also been selected to represent ACC Asia XI ODI side. Between 2007 and 2009, Ashraful captained his country in 13 Tests, losing all but one which ended in a draw, and 38 One Day Internationals (ODIs) of which Bangladesh won eight. Ashraful is Bangladesh's highest run-scorer in ODIs and second highest in Tests behind Habibul Bashar. When not playing with the national team, Ashraful plays domestic cricket for the Dhaka Division cricket team in Bangladesh's domestic one-day and first-class competitions, captaining both sides on occasion.

Post-captaincy (2009–present)

Ashraful was dropped when England toured Bangladesh in February and March 2010. He was recalled for Bangladesh's tour of England two months later. He struggled in June's 2010 Asia Cup, and was subsequently dropped; he was recalled for the ODI leg of the England tour due to injuries to the squad.After a poor run of form, Ashraful was dropped for ODI series against New Zealand in October 2010.He returned to domestic cricket, scoring a century for Dhaka Division in the opening match of the National Cricket League. Dhaka won the one-day competition, and Ashraful, who was the second-highest run-getter with 331 runs and claimed 7 wickets from 7 matches,was named player of the tournament. The West Indies toured in October, but after scoring just two runs in as many matches in the ODI series against them,Ashraful was dropped from the Test squad.
Ashraful captained Bangladesh at the 2010 Asian Games in late November. They played Afghanistan in the final; Bangladesh won by five wickets, securing the country's first gold medal at the Asian Games. Shortly after wining the tournament, Ashraful was recalled to Bangladesh's full squad for the five-match ODI series against Zimbabwe in December.Though they lost the first match, Bangladesh went on to win the next three completed, with one called off due to rain, to beat Zimbabwe 3–1.Ashraful played one match, scoring six runs. He was included in Bangladesh's 15-man squad for the 2011 World Cup. From three matches Ashraful managed 18 runs and was dropped from the squad for the three-match ODI series against Australia that followed.
In April he captained Bangladesh A on a tour of South Africa and his performances, including striking a one-day century, earned him a recall to the senior squad to face Zimbabwe in August. In the one-off Test, Ashraful scored the most runs for his team with an aggregate of 112, including a half-century as Bangladesh succumbed to defeat.Bangladesh lost the following ODI series against Zimbabwe 3–2. Bangladesh's batsmen struggled early in the series, and Ashraful scored 23 runs from three matches.For the 2011/12 season, the National Cricket League of Bangladesh was expanded from six first-class teams to eight. Dhaka Metropolis and Rangpur Division were the new teams, with Ashraful captaining the former. Though he scored his first first-class century in over a year in the competition, Ashraful was dropped from the ODI squad to face Pakistan in December.He was retained in the Test side for the Pakistan series, but was dropped after the first Test, in which he scored only one run.

Bangladesh captaincy (2007–2009)

Shortly after the World Cup, India toured Bangladesh for two Test matches and three ODIs. In the second Test, which Bangladesh lost by an innings and 239 runs, Ashraful scored the fastest half-century in Test cricket in terms of time (taking 27 minutes) and equal second-fastest when measured in balls faced (scored off 26 balls).Aside from the 67 he managed in one of the fastest half-centuries in Test cricket, Ashraful managed just five more runs in the series;in two ODIs, he scored 41 runs. After defeats in both series, Habibul Bashar stepped down from Bangladesh's one day captaincy; Mohammad Ashraful was appointed the team captain in all forms of cricket on 2 June 2007. At the time, he had played 35 Test and 101 ODIs and had some experience of captaincy at domestic level. Aged 22, he was the second-youngest international captain

Mohammad Ashraful created some controversy in March 2008 when he slapped a fan who called him "rubbish" while he was training at an indoor stadium in Dhaka. This happened at a time when Ashraful was being heavily criticised in the media for his poor form with the bat and questionable tactics on the field as captain. The BCB fined him 25% of his salary for the month of March 2008 for violating the Code of Conduct. He later apologised for the incident.
After an extended run of poor form and Bangladesh's first-round exit in the World Twenty20 2009, Ashraful was sacked as captain in June 2009. He was replaced by Mashrafe Mortaza for the tour of West Indies, with Shakib Al Hasan taking the position of vice-captain. It was hoped that Ashraful could climb out of the batting form slump in all formats in the international game with the release of the pressure of the captaincy.