Sakib forgets past, looks forward

Newly-appointed Test skipper Sakib al Hasan said on Monday that he was looking to start afresh in his second term as captain in the longest format putting behind his bitter memories in the first spell. 
The Bangladesh Cricket Board on Sunday announced the 30-year-old all-rounder as the new Test skipper replacing Mushfiqur Rahim, who led the side in last six years.
Ironically, Mushfiq took over the charge from Sakib, who was unceremoniously sacked in 2011 after a poor series in Zimbabwe, where Bangladesh lost the one-off Test and five-match one-day international series 3-2. 
Sakib, however, began his first spell of captaincy with an aura of success when he led Bangladesh to 2-0 win over West Indies in 2009, taking over from injured Mashrafee bin Murtaza at Arnos Vale in St. Vincent.
Despite his success both as player and captain in Tigers’ first-ever clean sweep victory in Test, his tenure turned increasingly bitter before it culminated in Zimbabwe, who beat Bangladesh in their Test comeback after six years. 
‘I don’t remember what happened in the past,’ Sakib told reporters in Mirpur. ‘It’s all right. A lot of things happens in life,’ said Sakib, who would start his new innings against Sri Lanka in January. 
Sakib acknowledged that he would try to lift the performance of the team in the next series.
‘This will be a new responsibility. We have done well in Tests in the last few matches. We won against Sri Lanka and we also defeated Australia and England here. We will try to improve ourselves from here, which will be our main target,’ he said.
‘Now many of the cricketers have been performing on a regular basis. When cricketers will perform, it becomes easy for the captain. I hope everyone will perform well and it will help the team to do well,’ he added.
Sakib took the opportunity to praise Mahmudullah, who was named as the new deputy. 
Sakib hoped that his job would be easier as there were a lot of senior cricketers in the squad who helped each other in decision-making affairs.
‘We have few leaders on the side. We took any kind decision after consulting with them. It is not important who is leading the side,’ he said.
‘It is really necessary to get help from others. Riyad Bhai [Mahmudullah] has been doing a fabulous job as a captain for the last few years in the BPL. He has the instinct for many days. I think my job will be easy,’ said Sakib.
Sakib, who was criticised sometimes for throwing his wickets in the recent past, said he would try to play in a responsible manner instead of playing for fun that typified him as a player.
‘I think it is a responsibility than enjoyment. Obviously, I will try to perform my responsibilities well here,’ he added. 

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net