Bangladesh Test Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto Resigns After Sri Lanka Defeat

Najmul Hossain Shanto has resigned from his position as the captain of the Bangladesh Test team. The announcement follows Bangladesh's disappointing defeat to Sri Lanka in Colombo.

Najmul Hossain Shanto's recent ODI captaincy removal. © AFP

Shanto addressed the media after the match, stating, "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."

The decision stems from Shanto's belief that having separate captains across all three formats (Test, ODI, and T20I) is not conducive to the team's overall performance. Bangladesh recently appointed Mehidy Hasan as the ODI captain. Shanto had also previously stepped down as the T20I captain.

"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," Shanto explained. "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."

He further clarified that his decision was not influenced by the recent change in ODI captaincy. "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."

Shanto confirmed that he had communicated his intentions to the cricket operations department prior to the official announcement.