Najmul Hossain Resigns as Bangladesh Test Captain Following Sri Lanka Defeat

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

Najmul Hossain Shanto's captaincy recently faced changes in the ODI format. © AFP

The decision was revealed during the post-match press conference after the loss to Sri Lanka. Najmul Hossain stated his decision was made for the betterment of the team.

"I am stepping down from the Bangladesh Test captaincy... This is entirely for the betterment of the team, and I believe this will help the team," he said.

Najmul also expressed his belief that Bangladesh does not need separate captains for all three formats of the game. He had previously stepped down as T20I captain, and Mehidy Hasan was recently appointed as the ODI captain.

"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... In my view, having three captains will be difficult for the team. So, for the betterment of the team, I am stepping down," Najmul explained.

He emphasized that his decision was not influenced by personal feelings regarding the ODI captaincy situation. "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... this is for the betterment of the team. There is nothing personal here," he clarified.

Najmul also mentioned that he had communicated his decision to the cricket operations department prior to the announcement.