Bangladesh Test Skipper Najmul Hossain Resigns Following Sri Lanka Defeat

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

Najmul Hossain Shanto gives up Test captaincy © AFP

Addressing the media after the match, Najmul stated, "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... this is not a personal matter... entirely for the betterment of the team."

He further explained his belief that Bangladesh doesn't require separate captains for each format of the game. It is worth noting that Mehidy Hasan was recently appointed as the ODI captain. Najmul had previously relinquished the T20I captaincy.

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

He emphasized that his decision was made with the team's best interests at heart. "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."

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