What went wrong for Bangladesh during the Test series against Sri Lanka, despite having a more experienced side and the benefit of playing at home? Prior to the series, Bangladesh clearly had the upper hand. However, they were unable to outperform Sri Lanka in the series. The batting unit, particularly in the second Test, should take the brunt of the blame. Bangladesh's Test captain, Mominul Haque, was the biggest disappointment among them. Mominul's captaincy has impacted his batting. There has been debate on whether he should continue to captain the team in the forthcoming BAN vs WI Test Series 2022. Let's discuss whether Mominul Haque should step down from captaincy. Mominul Haque’s Performance as Test Captain Mominul Haque made his debut as Test captain against India in November 2019. Since then, he has captained Bangladesh in 17 matches and led them to win three of them. Bangladesh’s arguably greatest victory in cricket to date came under his captaincy against New Zealand in January 2022. The Tigers beat the Kiwis by 8 wickets at Mount Maunganui. More importantly, a new-look Bangladesh side completely dismantled the New Zealand team in their own backyard. There was a hope that Bangladesh would only develop from there on. However, things haven’t worked out as expected since then. Bangladesh failed to execute their game plan against an inexperienced New Zealand side. They lost both the away Test matches heavily. Bangladesh were favourites against Sri Lanka at home, but once again they couldn’t meet the expectations and conceded a series defeat. What’s more alarming is that Mominul Haque’s batting performance has declined in recent matches. Read: IPL 2022: Meet the Top Individual Performers Mominul Haque has played 9 innings since the historic Test victory over New Zealand in January. In those, his highest score was 37, and surprisingly, he failed to reach double-digit numbers in the remaining eight innings. The stats clearly indicate that Mominul is currently going through a series of bad patches with the bat. However, that doesn’t mean he can’t handle the pressure of captaincy, which poses extra pressure on his batting. Because Mominul has three centuries to his name since he became captain. Mominul Haque has the lowest batting average among those who have captained the Bangladesh Test team more than once since 2011. However, the main reason for the decline in his batting average is his recent poor run of form. Bangladesh Test Captains' Batting Statistics Since 2011 (at least 2 matches)   Player Innings Runs HS Ave 100s Mahmudullah Riyad 12 535 146 59.44 2 Mushfiqur Rahim 61 2321 200 41.44 4 Shakib Al Hasan 27 918 100 35.30 1 Mominul Haque 31 912 132 31.44 3     Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/ Read Lack of team effort cost us the match: Mominul The BCB has to decide whether they would like to give Mominul one more chance to thrive as a captain or whether they will look for an alternative option. If Mominul has been put under pressure as captain, removing him from the position will be a more viable option. Who Can Replace Mominul Haque? There are very limited options when it comes to picking Mominul alternatives for the Test captaincy role. Mushfiqur Rahim will not be considered for the captaincy role. Tamim Iqbal’s main focus is captaining the ODI side, while Mahmudullah Riyad has already retired from the longer-version format. So, there are only two realistic options for the BCB to pick a Mominul alternative. They are Shakib Al Hasan and Litton Kumer Das. Litton Das has yet to captain the Test side, while Bangladesh have played 14 matches under Shakib’s captaincy. Besides, the record also backs Shakib as he has the best winning percentage as a skipper. Read Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka Test Series 2022: Five Key Discussion Points Bangladesh's top three Test captaincy records Player Match Won Lost Draw %Win Shakib Al Hasan 14 3 11 0 21.42 Mushfiqur Rahim 34 7 18 9 20.58 Mominul Haque 17 3 12 2 17.64     Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/ Bottom Line Mominul Haque's overall batting record isn't bad, but he is not feeling confident regarding his captaincy and batting right now. He must overcome his mental obstacles to regain his batting rhythm. Mominul must also show his character in terms of decision-making both on and off the field. Will he be able to implement this in the forthcoming West Indies series? Or is it time for Mominul to reconsider his Captaincy role? However, BCB will reassess his place in the team and may hand over the captaincy to Shakib Al Hasan if Mominul fails to deliver as skipper and batter in the upcoming series against the Caribbean side.  Read Bangladesh Cricket Captains: Performance Review for the Year 2021

Bangladesh Test captain Mominul Haque said they will do whatever it takes to win the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka as the second and final match begins Monday in Dhaka. The first Test ended in a draw after the Lankan Lions held on to force a draw on the last day in Chattogram. Also read: Sri Lanka hold firm to end Chattogram Test in a draw Mushfiqur Rahim and Nayeem Hasan did well for the hosts while Angelo Mathews, who scored 199 and won the player of the match award, led the visitors on a pitch that offered little to produce a result. But the wickets in Dhaka are known for producing results in Tests. Of 22 Tests in Dhaka, 19 ended with a result. So, the chance of getting a result in Dhaka is high, believes the Bangladesh skipper. "We saw only a few matches without a result in Mirpur," Mominul said. "It's hard to remember when I did not see a result here. But to win a match, we have to play well and need to have a great plan." Bangladesh will miss the service of Shoriful Islam and Nayeem in this match. Both sustained injuries in the first match and were subsequently ruled out of Dhaka Test, and they are also doubtful for Bangladesh's next tour to West Indies for a two-match Test, three-match ODI and three-match T20I series. Their absence might pave the way for Ebadot Hossain and Mosaddek Hossain Saikat in the Dhaka Test. "Ebadot might get a chance, and it would be great for him," the Bangladesh captain said. "Mosaddek might play in this Test; he has a good chance to be in the playing XI. Shakib (Al Hasan) did well in the last match, and Nayeem (Hasan) has been one of our best batters in the format for the last few years. If Mosaddek plays in this match, he might have a different role." Also read:Shoriful ruled out of second Test vs Sri Lanka This series is a part of the ongoing cycle of the ICC Test Championship. Bangladesh played seven Tests in this event and won only one early this year against New Zealand. Earlier, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka locked horns in three Tests at Sher-e-Bangla, and the Lankans won all the matches.

Charged up post  their historic ODI series win against South Africa on the latter's home soil, Bangladesh aim to continue their winning streak in Tests too. “When you come to play a full series and win the first one, you are one step ahead in terms of confidence,” Bangladesh Test captain Mominul Haque said ahead of their first Test against South Africa on Thursday. Read:SA vs BAN Series 2022: Bangladesh Aim Unprecedented Feat on South African Territory "Though the red-ball cricket is slightly different from the white-ball cricket, we have to start over, but we are confident," he told reporters. Bangladesh and South Africa are all set to take on each other in the first of the two-match Test series at Kingsmead, Durban, later in the day. Ahead of this series, Bangladesh won the three-match ODI series against the hosts 2-1. The Tigers won both the matches in Centurion riding on an outstanding team-effort. Bangladesh played a total of 12 Tests against the Proteas and failed to win any of them. Bangladesh only have two draws which came with the help of rains. And six among these Tests were played in South Africa and Bangladesh lost all of them. This history is not going to help the Tigers in any way. “We have to work on the things that went wrong against New Zealand earlier this year,” Mominul said. “We have to follow the process that helped us gain success against the Blackcaps in the Test we’ve won.” While Bangladesh are full of confidence ahead of the Test series, South Africa are undermanned with some of their key players leaving the team due to their commitment with their respective Indian Premier League teams.  Mominul said that it would keep them ahead of the hosts, but "the hosts will also get some advantage as they are playing in their own land and in front of their own people". The Bangladesh captain also said the performance of the pace bowlers is important for his team to win a Test in South Africa. “Some of our pacers have done really well in the ODI series. It’s important for our pacers to do well if we want to win a Test here." Read:SA vs BAN Test Series 2022: Five Bangladeshi players with High Potency Taskin Ahmed, the right-arm pacer, was the player of the series in ODIs. He is expected to do well in the Test series too. To play in this series, Taskin turned down an offer to play in the Indian Premier League.  Bangladesh are going to miss the service of Shakib Al Hasan in the first match of the two-match Test series. The allrounder is currently in Bangladesh staying with his family. He had to return home after the ODI series as a few members of his family were in the hospital with different illnesses.  He, however, is expected to join the Bangladesh team ahead of the second Test which will be played in St George's Park, Port Elizabeth, from April 8. 

Bangladesh Test captain Mominul Haque hit a ton in the ongoing Test against West Indies at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on Saturday.

Bangladesh Test captain Mominul Haque tested negative for Covid-19 and backed to the field to prepare himself for the upcoming Bangabandhu T20 Cup 2020 starting from November 24.

Bangladesh Test captain Mominul Haque has said they will try to ensure that the mistakes they committed against Afghanistan and India in the previous two series are not repeated during the Pakistan tour.