Bangladesh Test Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto Resigns After Sri Lanka Defeat

Najmul Hossain has resigned from his position as the Bangladesh Test captain. This announcement follows Bangladesh's heavy defeat to Sri Lanka in Colombo.

Najmul Hossain Shanto was recently stripped off ODI captaincy © AFP

Najmul made the announcement at the post-match press conference. He stated, "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."

He further elaborated that his decision stemmed from his belief that Bangladesh did not require three different captains for the three formats of the game. Recently, Mehidy Hasan was appointed as the ODI captain. Najmul had 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... In my view, having three captains will be difficult for the team. So, for the betterment of the team, I am stepping down," Najmul explained.

He also addressed concerns that his decision might be linked to the ODI captaincy change. "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... this is for the betterment of the team. There is nothing personal here," he clarified.

Najmul confirmed that he had communicated his decision to the cricket operations department several days prior to the public announcement.