Najmul Hossain Resigns as Bangladesh Test Captain Following Sri Lanka Defeat

Najmul Hossain Shanto has resigned from his position as the Bangladesh Test captain. This decision follows Bangladesh's disappointing defeat to Sri Lanka by an innings and 78 runs in Colombo on Saturday.

Najmul Hossain Shanto: Stepping down for the team. © AFP

Announcing his decision at the post-match press conference, Najmul stated, "I am stepping down from the Bangladesh Test captaincy. I don't want to continue as captain in this format." He emphasized that this decision was made solely "for the betterment of the team" and was not influenced by personal reasons.

Najmul further explained his belief that Bangladesh doesn't require separate captains for each format of the game. He highlighted that Mehidy Hasan was recently appointed as the ODI captain, and Najmul himself had previously relinquished the T20I captaincy.

"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," Najmul stated. He acknowledged that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) might have a different perspective, which he respects. However, he believes that "having three captains will be difficult for the team."

Addressing potential speculation about his motives, Najmul clarified, "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 also revealed that he had informed the cricket operations department of his decision several days prior to the announcement.