Najmul Hossain Shanto Resigns as Bangladesh Test Captain Following Sri Lanka Defeat

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

Najmul Hossain Shanto was recently stripped off ODI captaincy © AFP

The decision was made public during the post-match press conference after the loss to Sri Lanka by an innings and 78 runs.

Najmul stated, "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."

He further elaborated on his reasoning, suggesting that Bangladesh does not require separate captains for each format of the game. He highlighted that Mehidy Hasan was recently appointed as the ODI captain. Najmul himself had previously stepped down from 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... In my view, having three captains will be difficult for the team. So, for the betterment of the team, I am stepping down," he explained.

Najmul also addressed potential speculation regarding his motives. "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 asserted.

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