Najmul Hossain Resigns as Bangladesh Test Captain After Sri Lanka Defeat

Najmul Hossain has resigned from his position as the Bangladesh Test captain. The announcement follows Bangladesh's heavy defeat to Sri Lanka in Colombo.

Najmul Hossain Shanto was recently stripped off ODI captaincy © AFP

Najmul confirmed his decision at the post-match press conference, stating, "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, and I want to give a clear message to everyone: 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 explained his reasoning, highlighting the potential complications of having separate captains for each format of the game. Bangladesh recently appointed Mehidy Hasan as the ODI captain, and Najmul had previously relinquished the T20I captaincy.

Najmul elaborated, "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. The cricket board might think otherwise, and I fully respect that. In my view, having three captains will be difficult for the team. So, for the betterment of the team, I am stepping down."

He also addressed any potential speculation about his motives, emphasizing that his decision was not influenced by the ODI captaincy change. "If the cricket board feels they will continue with three captains in three formats, that will be their decision. 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.

Najmul also revealed that he had informed the cricket operations department of his decision a few days prior to the public announcement.