Dhaka, February 21: Bangladesh pace bowler Mashrafe Mortaza will lead the country in the forthcoming three-match one-day international series against Zimbabwe despite uncertainty over his future.

Mashrafe has not represented Bangladesh in any ODI since the ICC World Cup last year, and in January withdrew his name from a lucrative national team contract. But Bangladesh Cricket Board officials said he would skipper the side despite his apparent lack of commitment.

"At this moment we don't have a substitute for a captain like Mashrafe," president Nazmul Hassan told reporters in Dhaka.

"If he is not fit, that is another issue." Hassan said while Mashrafe's captaincy was vital to the team, it was also time for him to decide his future.

"We have to decide about our next captain very soon," he said.

Bangladesh will face Zimbabwe in the three-match ODI series from March 1 in Sylhet, before travelling to Pakistan in April for a one-off ODI series.

Mashrafe enjoys hero status in Bangladesh after taking the team from being international whipping boys to gaining respectability as a limited-overs side. The BCB wanted to give him a grand farewell last year when Zimbabwe last visited the country, but the player rejected the opportunity.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)