Najmul Hossain Shanto Resigns as Bangladesh Test Captain After Sri Lanka Defeat

Najmul Hossain Shanto has resigned from his position as the captain of the Bangladesh Test team. This announcement follows Bangladesh's recent defeat to Sri Lanka in Colombo by an innings and 78 runs.

Najmul Hossain Shanto's captaincy tenure ends © AFP

During the post-match press conference, Najmul stated, "I have an announcement to make. I am stepping down from the Bangladesh Test captaincy. I don't want to continue as captain in this format...this is not a personal matter. It is entirely for the betterment of the team, and I believe this will help the team."

Najmul further elaborated that his decision stemmed from a belief that Bangladesh should not have separate captains for all three formats of the game. He highlighted that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) recently appointed Mehidy Hasan as the ODI captain, and Najmul himself had previously stepped down as the T20I captain.

He explained, "Over the last few years, I have had the opportunity to be in this dressing room, and I don't feel it is logical to have three captains for three formats. This is completely my personal opinion. The cricket board might think otherwise, and I fully respect that. In my view, having three captains will be difficult for the team. So, for the betterment of the team, I am stepping down."

Najmul emphasized that his decision was not influenced by the ODI captaincy snub and reiterated that it was solely for the benefit of the team.

"If the cricket board feels they will continue with three captains in three formats, that will be their decision. I just hope people don't see this as a personal issue or think I did this because I felt bad about the ODI captaincy snub. I want to make it clear again: this is for the betterment of the team. There is nothing personal here," he clarified.

He also mentioned that he had communicated his decision to the cricket operations department a few days prior to the public announcement.