After displaying dominant cricket in the first Test of the two-match series against Sri Lanka and securing a draw, Bangladesh suffered a crushing defeat in the second Test, losing by an innings and 78 runs after a string of failures from start to finish. Following the innings defeat in the Colombo Test, Najmul Hossain Shanto made a sudden announcement to step down as Bangladesh’s Test captain. Although there had been rumors earlier about him stepping down from red-ball captaincy, they were confirmed at last.
Shanto said,
“I don’t want to continue as the captain in the Test format anymore. I want to make one thing clear—this is not a personal decision. I’ve taken this step for the betterment of the team. I believe this will ultimately benefit the team.”
However, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Aminul Islam Bulbul declined to make any immediate comments regarding Shanto stepping down. When asked about the defeat, Bulbul said,
“I just got the news that we’ve lost. Since I didn’t watch the match, I can’t react right now. I want to clarify one thing—I’m the board president, but analyzing the team’s performance in detail is not my job.”
Bulbul had hoped that Shanto wouldn’t give up Test leadership so soon. But proving that belief wrong, Shanto officially announced his resignation on Saturday, June 28. Regarding the issue, the board president refrained from commenting directly and said,
“There’s a cricket operations department, and there are selectors—that’s their job. If they ever feel the need to involve me or inform me, I will help. But I can’t make any comments on this right now.”
As for his reason for stepping down, Shanto said,
“I’ve had the opportunity to be part of this dressing room for quite a few years now. Personally, I feel having three captains could be problematic for the team. So, I’m stepping away for the team’s greater good. If the cricket board feels that keeping three captains is fine, that’s their decision.”
