After Bangladesh lost the Sri Lanka series 1-0, Najmul Hossain Shanto resigned as captain of the Test team. Soon after Bangladesh lost the second Test by an innings and 78 runs, he announced the news to the world at the press conference held in Colombo after the game.
“I have an announcement to make,” Shanto told reporters after Bangladesh were beaten by an innings and 78 runs. “I am stepping down from the Bangladesh Test captaincy. I don’t want to continue as captain in this format, and I want to give a clear message to everyone: this is not a personal matter. It is entirely for the betterment of the team, and I believe this will help the team. If the cricket board feels they will continue with three captains in three formats, that will be their decision.”
The BCB expressed surprise at the timing of his announcement.
“We have been discussing the matter for some time, but I had no idea that he would announce it today,” Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, BCB’s cricket operations chairman, said. “It would have been good if this hadn’t happened – not just because he was a successful captain, but because I have seen his leadership qualities from very close. He has done well as a captain and he is a good leader. If he had continued, it would have been very good for us. But since he has made this decision, I respect that.”
Shanto resigned from the T20I captaincy earlier this year. He had also underlined the necessity of a long-term ODI skipper prior to the Sri Lanka visit. After a directors’ meeting that same day, Mehidy Hasan Miraz was appointed as Bangladesh’s new ODI captain by the BCB. Shanto refused to comment, despite reports that he was dissatisfied with the way the decision was handled.
“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,” he said. “I want to make it clear again: this is for the betterment of the team. There is nothing personal here. I already informed the cricket operations department a few days back.”
Shanto captained Bangladesh in 14 Test matches throughout his tenure, winning four of them. The high point of his tenure was a historic series triumph over Pakistan in August 2024, which followed a spectacular victory over New Zealand in Sylhet in November 2023.
During the recent Sri Lanka series, he also became the first skipper of Bangladesh to score two hundreds in a single Test match. Compared to his previous record (29.83), his batting average (36.24) during his captaincy was a significant increase.
Following Shakib Al Hasan’s injury in November 2023, Shanto was first designated interim captain. In early 2024, he was promoted to full-time captain across all formats.
Bangladesh will host Ireland in October for their next Test match. This allows the BCB time to select Shanto’s replacement. Both Litton Das, the captain of the T20I team, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, the captain of the ODI team, are expected to step up in Test matches.
