Shanto resigns as Test captain

Shanto Resigns as Test Captain Following Heavy Defeat

Najmul Hossain Shanto has announced his resignation as Bangladesh's Test captain after the team suffered a crushing defeat by an innings and 78 runs against Sri Lanka in the Colombo Test on Saturday.

“I have an announcement to make — I am stepping down as the Test captain of the Bangladesh team,” Shanto declared at the post-match press conference.

The decision, he clarified, was motivated by a belief that the national team does not benefit from having different captains for each format.

“Over the past few years, I’ve been a part of this dressing room, and I don’t think it makes sense to have three separate captains for three formats. This is entirely my personal view. The board may see it differently, and I completely respect that. But in my opinion, it’s difficult for the team to function smoothly under three different leaders. That’s why I’ve decided to step down — for the team’s best interest,” Shanto explained.

He emphasised that the move was not in reaction to being removed from the ODI captaincy earlier. “If the board wants to go ahead with three captains, that’s entirely up to them. I just hope no one sees this as a personal issue or thinks I’m doing this because I was upset over the ODI captaincy. I want to make it absolutely clear: this is a team-first decision.”

Shanto confirmed that he had informed the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) beforehand. “I already communicated my decision to the cricket operations department a few days ago,” he said.

Team manager Nafis Iqbal, present at the press conference, thanked Shanto on behalf of the board: “Thank you so much for your contributions, and we wish you the very best for the challenges ahead.”

The development did not come as a surprise, as Daily Sun had earlier reported that Shanto was “seriously considering” stepping down once the series concluded.

“The chances of him continuing as captain are very slim,” a close confidant of Shanto had told Daily Sun ahead of the Colombo Test.

His resignation comes in the wake of the BCB’s sudden and poorly communicated decision to strip him of the ODI captaincy — a move that sparked criticism and raised questions about internal communication within the board.