Bangladesh cricket team captain Najmul Hossain Shanto has expressed his wish to step down as the Bangladesh captain, according to Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).
Shanto, Bangladesh's captain in all three formats, has informed the board that he wants the ongoing Test series at home against South Africa to be his last as the captain, report
agencies.
The online sports portal has learned that Shanto sent the message to senior board officials following the first Test against South Africa in Dhaka, which Bangladesh lost by seven wickets. The BCB is yet to discuss the matter as president Faruque Ahmed is not in the country - he is expected to arrive in Dhaka tomorrow (Monday) evening.
If Shanto's resignation is accepted, the BCB will have to appoint a new captain on short notice with a packed schedule ahead.
The second Test against South Africa is scheduled for October 29 to November 02, and Bangladesh are then off to the UAE to play three ODIs against Afghanistan, with the first game on November 06. That series ends on November 11, and they then go to the West Indies for an all-format series - the three-day tour match prior to the series-opening first Test starts on November 15.
The online sports portal understands Shanto's fluctuating form with the bat influenced his decision. He has averaged 25.76 since taking over the Test captaincy last November after being one of the team's in-form batters at the time.
He was subsequently given Bangladesh's ODI and T20I captaincy too, as the BCB was looking for a man to lead the team through the period of transition with several of their senior cricketers either retiring from certain formats or being on the verge of doing so.
"Yes, he informed us that he is not ready to lead the side after the South Africa series," a top BCB official confirmed the development to a online sports portal.
Najmul admitted to the website about his decision. "Let's see what happens (as far as leading Bangladesh is concerned) because I am still waiting to hear it from the president (BCB)," said the skipper without elaborating further. A top BCB director is trying to convince him to reverse his decision, which seems unlikely at this moment in time. It was learnt that following the 2024 T20 World Cup, Najmul decided to step down from T20 captaincy but later changed his mind and wanted to quit from all three formats.
Najmul led Bangladesh in nine Tests and earned three wins and six losses with the highlight being a maiden Test series win over Pakistan. In the nine ODIs that he captained Bangladesh, they lost six and won three matches. In T20Is, he led the side in 24 games where he earned 10 wins.
