Najmul Hossain Shanto steps down as Bangladesh T20I captain

Najmul Hossain Shanto has stepped down as the captain of the national T20I side with the decision being confirmed by a senior Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) official on January 2. Reports of Shanto’s decision to give away the captaincy surfaced following Bangladesh’s home series against South Africa.

Initially, he had planned to resign after the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup but BCB President Faruque Ahmed intervened and persuaded Shanto to continue as captain for Tests and ODIs. He was then named as the captain for the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, where he picked an injury. Shanto later expressed a desire to step down from leading in all three formats of the game.

Shanto finally told us that he won’t lead in the T20Is: BCB official

“Shanto finally told us that he won’t lead in the T20Is and we accepted it but as we don’t have T20Is at the moment, we have time in hand and so we are not picking a new captain. If there is no injury issue Najmul will remain the captain in Test and ODIs and we have discussed it,” a top BCB official told Cricbuzz.

Meanwhile, Litton Das is a potential successor for the T20I captaincy. Das has already led the side and recently guided them to a 3-0 series win against the West Indies. He has also expressed willingness to take on the role on a long-term basis, making him a strong candidate.

Another name in the mix is Mehedy Hasan, who has previously served as a stand-in captain during tours when the regular skipper was unavailable. For now, Shanto will captain the team in the ICC Champions Trophy.

During his tenure as T20I captain, Shanto led Bangladesh in 24 matches, achieving 10 wins, 13 losses, and one no-result.