Is Mehidy Hasan running out of time as Bangladesh's ODI leader?

Bangladesh earned a consolation win over Zimbabwe, beating the hosts by seven wickets in the last game of the three-match series, which the home side had already clinched after winning the opening two matches.

Whether this win, which came in a dead rubber, will be enough for Mehidy to retain his captaincy going forward is turning out to be the biggest question.

Mehidy has been entrusted with the responsibility of leading Bangladesh until the 2027 World Cup, but his captaincy record, coupled with his tactical missteps, will surely come under scrutiny in the coming days as the team prepares for the global event, scheduled to be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia next February.

Since taking over as ODI captain, Mehidy has led Bangladesh in 24 matches, winning 10, losing 13, with one match ending in a tie, giving him a win percentage of 41.66.

However, Mehidy's record away from home is particularly alarming, having managed just two wins from 13 ODIs abroad, while he has overseen eight victories in 11 games at home.

His captaincy in the recently concluded three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe also raised quite a few eyebrows.

In the series opener, Bangladesh failed to chase down 142 due to the failure of their batting unit. More than that, however, Mehidy's on-field decisions became a major talking point after he failed to seize the opportunity when Zimbabwe were struggling at 70 for 8.

On a lively Harare wicket where the pacers had dominated proceedings, Mehidy opted to bring himself and Rishad Hossain into the attack after Nahid Rana's five-wicket haul had laid the platform to bundle the hosts out for under 100.

Despite having Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman at his disposal, Mehidy did not turn to them. The move proved to be a blessing in disguise for Zimbabwe as Richard Ngarava and Newman Nyamhuri added 63 runs for the ninth wicket, Zimbabwe's highest ninth-wicket stand against Bangladesh, a partnership that eventually dictated the outcome of the game.

"I think we should have gone for the kill at that stage," a former national captain said when his attention was drawn regarding Mehidy's surprise move in the opening game.

"As a captain you cannot let these kinds of opportunities go away because the pacers were doing good and you had them in your possession so why not try them," he said, adding that it is another matter that batters failed to chase down 142.

Mehidy had the chance to bring Bangladesh back into the series by guiding them home in the second ODI, but he fell after playing a reckless shot.

The tourists needed 13 runs from the last 12 balls, with Mehidy batting comfortably on 27, but the right-hander chose to pull the first ball of Ngarava's penultimate over, a short delivery, straight to the fielder at deep backward square leg rather than taking the game deep.

"When you are batting with the number 11 and chasing 13 runs from 12 balls, it's better to take the game deep rather than trying to play such a shot on the first ball of the over. More so because it was not the last over and he could take his time," said another former national all-rounder.

"A captain needs to lead from the front but he failed in both the games," he added.

Questions were also raised over Mehidy's decision not to use Mossadek Hossain regularly. The all-rounder, who bowled impressively in his comeback series against Australia, managed just two overs across the three-match series against Zimbabwe.

It is not new for Mehidy to ignore part-time bowlers after they have shown promise with the ball. Whether it is Shamim Hossain or Saif Hasan, whenever they have displayed their ability as slow bowlers, they have somehow not been given enough opportunities to build on that confidence.

Shamim played a big role with the ball, returning figures of 1 for 22 in nine overs against Sri Lanka at Pallekele in 2025, helping Bangladesh register Mehidy's first ODI win away from home. However, in the following game he bowled just four overs before being dropped for the final ODI.

Mehidy trusted Saif Hasan to bowl the Super Over against the West Indies, but since then the right-arm off-spinner, who bowls regularly in domestic cricket, has bowled just three overs across the next eight ODIs he played for Bangladesh.

Rishad Hossain can also claim to be unlucky as he failed to get the backing of Mehidy in the ODIs despite being consistent in white-ball cricket.

Whether Mehidy will lead the side in the 2027 ODI World Cup is a matter for the future but one thing remains certain: his captaincy needs to be under the microscope after several tactical missteps.