Najmul Hossain Shanto Resigns as Bangladesh Test Captain Following Series Loss to Sri Lanka

Najmul Hossain Shanto has announced his resignation as Bangladesh’s Test captain after the team suffered a heavy innings defeat to Sri Lanka in the second Test in Colombo, resulting in a 1-0 series loss. The decision comes as Bangladesh continues to navigate a transitional phase across all three formats of international cricket.

Shanto’s leadership tenure came to an end following Bangladesh’s disappointing performance in Colombo, where the team fell short by an innings and 78 runs. The defeat also cost them valuable points in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle. The first Test of the two-match series had ended in a draw, giving Bangladesh a chance to press for a series win—an opportunity that went unfulfilled.

In a statement quoted by ESPNcricinfo, Shanto clarified that his decision was not emotionally driven or connected to recent administrative changes. “I don’t want to continue [as captain] in the Test format anymore. This is not personal. I have taken the decision for the betterment of the team,” he said. “I think three captains [for the three international formats] is not sensible. I don’t know what the board will feel about this, and I will support their decision.”

Earlier in the year, Shanto had also stepped down from the T20I captaincy. He had expressed interest in retaining the ODI captaincy, but the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) later appointed Mehidy Hasan Miraz as the new ODI skipper. Addressing this context, Shanto said, “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. I already informed the cricket operations department a few days back.”

Shanto led Bangladesh in 14 Tests, winning four matches during his tenure. His captaincy began with a notable victory over New Zealand in Sylhet in November 2023 and included a historic series win in Pakistan in August. He also became the first Bangladeshi captain to score twin centuries in a Test match in Sri Lanka and averaged 36.24 as captain.

With Shanto stepping down, Bangladesh Cricket Board has some time to deliberate on his successor, as their next Test assignment is scheduled for October against Ireland. Currently, Litton Das captains the T20I side, while Mehidy Hasan Miraz leads the ODI team.