Najmul Hossain Shanto has decided to step down from his position as Bangladesh’s red-ball captain after the team lost the series 1-0 against Sri Lanka on Saturday. The loss marks their first defeat of the current World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.
Shanto announced his decision during the post-match conference after the second Test in Colombo and said he had already informed the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) before going public.
“I have an announcement to make,” Shanto told reporters. “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.”
Interestingly, he had requested to step down once before as well. In October last year, Shanto had told the BCB he wanted to step down as the all-format captain after the then-ongoing South Africa series, but the board refused, urging him to continue leading the side.
However, his leadership gradually dissolved across formats. He relinquished his T20I captaincy duties in January, following which Litton Das was called in to fill the position. While the BCB had said Shanto would continue captaining the longer formats, he was removed from ODI captaincy in June, which meant Bangladesh were being led by a different captain in each format. Part of the reason behind Shanto stepping down, as told by him, is to reduce the number of captains for the side. However, reports suggest that his sudden removal as ODI captain left Shanto displeased, though he maintained post-match his decision wasn’t ‘personal.’
“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.”
He captained Bangladesh for fourteen Test matches, thirteen ODIs, and 24 T20Is, including the 2024 T20 World Cup. Across formats, he led his side in 51 games, winning 18 and losing 31.
His first stint as captain came in November 2023 when he stood in for the injured Shakib Al Hasan. In early 2024, he was named the full-time all-format captain for one year.
Since 2020, he has been the only batter to score a century in both innings of a Test match twice. The second time he achieved the feat was in the recent red-ball series against Sri Lanka. Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, BCB’s operations chairman, curiously expressed his surprise at Shanto’s decision.
“We have been discussing the matter for some time, but I had no idea that he would announce it today,” Nazmul 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.”
Bangladesh’s next Test assignment is in October when they host Ireland, which gives the BCB time to consider its options. Mehidy Hasan currently leads the ODI side, while Litton Das is the T20I captain. Either could be considered for the Test role.
