Dhaka Capitals handed Sri Lankan recruit Thisara Perera the captaincy to lead the side in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T20 tournament.
Senior player Liton Das was predicted to captain Dhaka after he led Bangladesh national cricket team to first ever T20 series sweep against West Indies on Caribbean Island a few days ago. Even though Liton's own form was disappointing his captaincy earned a huge plaudit.
Dhaka, which came into this BPL under new ownership, will take on Rangpur Riders today (Monday) at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium to kick off their campaign.
Perera was quite hopeful with the Dhaka franchise.
"It's a great feeling to be the captain of such a franchise league. I have played many times in the BPL but this is my first time as a captain," Perera told the reporters on Sunday.
"But this is not new to me, I have captained many times in franchise cricket. This is a new franchise, I am looking forward to doing well."
Perera's answer to getting the leadership was also clear, "I never thought that I would be given the captaincy. They made me the captain because they have faith on me."
Liton has been going through a horrible patch. After a disappointing ODI outings, he made just 0, 3 and 14 runs respectively in three T20 Internationals against West Indies.
Perera still termed Liton as the vital cog in the team, saying that, "Liton is the most important member of our team. If he keeps scoring runs, it is difficult to stop him. He has done great in the last few years. But, we have to accept our failures. I can say that Liton is our main player. We want to do everything properly, be it batting and bowling. Liton will be our anchor."
Perera revealed that he had no discussion with Liton regarding his captaincy.
"There was no discussion about the captaincy. The captaincy is a very simple matter," Perera said, adding, "We do not think about who is the captain, who is the senior and who is the junior. It's all about to perform for the team." —BSS
