Bangladesh’s Test captain, Najmul Hossain Shanto, is expected to relinquish his leadership role by the conclusion of the ongoing two‑match Test series against Sri Lanka.
As reported by Cricbuzz, sources close to the situation suggest that Shanto plans to formally inform the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) once the series wraps up.
His captaincy tenure across formats has been marred with tensions between him and the board, particularly following his sudden removal from the ODI captaincy.
Unhappy Najmul Hossain Shanto Set to Step Down as Bangladesh Test Captain
For the unversed, Najmul Hossain Shanto voluntarily stepped aside as T20I captain to focus on his batting. He expressed his intent to continue leading both the Test and ODI teams. Yet on June 12, during an emergency Zoom meeting, the BCB announced that Mehidy Hasan Miraz would take over ODI duties.
Shanto was reportedly informed about this just before a meeting with head coach Phil Simmons, which miffed him.
Now, a close confidant of Shanto, speaking on condition of anonymity to Cricbuzz, revealed the batter’s growing discontent, saying:
"I think he will not continue as Test captain after the Test series against Sri Lanka. I have known him for a long time, and as far as I understand, he is not happy with everything that is going around with him."
The tipping point appears to have been the manner in which Shanto was removed from the ODI captaincy.
Despite the brewing discontent, BCB President Aminul Islam downplayed any suggestion of conflict.
"Coming to Shanto's point, his captaincy was not taken away, rather the decision was taken with everyone's consent in the board. We decided to have a new and different plan. As we are currently playing lots of matches of all formats, we wanted to go with three different captains," Aminul said as quoted to Kaler Kantho
"As Litton and Shanto are captaining the T20 and Test side respectively, and Shanto is performing well in Tests, we thought that if Miraz leads the ODI side, Shanto will concentrate better in other formats. It was the board's policy decision. It was our plan that one of us would talk to Shanto. That person later reported that he did his job and Shanto received the decision quite cordially. Maybe the situation went differently because of some false news and misunderstanding. To conclude, there are two sides of this situation: the decision was taken with the consent of everyone in the board and Shanto took it sportingly," he added.
Najmul Hossain Shanto’s Record as Captain Across Formats
Najmul Hossain Shanto’s time as captain has been a mixed bag. In Test cricket, he has so far led Bangladesh in 13 matches. His stint has seen the team register four victories, suffer eight defeats, and earn a draw in the most recent encounter against Sri Lanka.
In the 50-over format, Shanto captained the side in 13 games. The results, however, have leaned towards the disappointing end. Bangladesh managed to win only four matches under his leadership, while ending up on the losing side in the other nine.
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