Sylhet, March 5 (IANS): Mashrafe Mortaza has announced that he will step down as Bangladesh ODI captain after the third and final match of the ongoing series against Zimbabwe to be played on Friday.

Mortaza, however, has said that he will continue as a player, reports ESPNIndia.

His announcement comes after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan, prior to the ODI series, had said that they would look for a new captain after this series.

Mortaza, who made his senior team debut in 2001, was first named ODI captain in 2010. He led the team to the semi-final of the 2017 Champions Trophy and the quarter-final of the 2015 World Cup, after taking over as the white-ball captain in November 2014.

In total, he led Bangladesh in 87 ODIs, winning 49 and losing 36. He also captained in 28 T20Is in which his team emerged victorious on 10 occasions. The all-rounder also led the team in one Test, against West Indies in 2009, which Bangladesh won.