January 2, 2025

Shanto Resigns as Bangladesh’s T20I Captain

A Bangladesh Cricket Board official confirmed on Thursday (January 2) that Najmul Hossain Shanto has decided to step down as the national T20I captain, marking the end of his brief tenure in the role.

Earlier reports from Cricbuzz had indicated that Najmul had expressed a desire to relinquish the T20I captaincy following the home series against South Africa. Initially, Shanto had planned to step down from the T20I captaincy after the 2024 World Cup, but later reconsidered, deciding that he would prefer to resign from leading in all three formats. This announcement had raised concerns over the leadership structure for Bangladesh cricket.

However, his decision to step down from all leadership roles was ultimately reversed after intervention from BCB president Faruque Ahmed, who persuaded Shanto to continue leading the side in limited-overs formats. As a result, Shanto was appointed captain for the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan. Unfortunately, his leadership was cut short when he sustained an injury during the series, further complicating the situation.

“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,” a top BCB official told Cricbuzz. “If there is no injury issue Najmul will remain the captain in Test and ODIs and we have discussed it,” he said.

It is understood that Litton Das, who demonstrated his leadership capabilities by guiding Bangladesh to a dominant 3-0 series win over the West Indies, has expressed his commitment to taking on the T20I captaincy for the long term. As a result, he is expected to continue leading the team in the shortest format.

In contrast, Najmul Hossain Shanto will take charge of Bangladesh for the upcoming Champions Trophy. While there was some speculation regarding Mehedy Hasan potentially assuming the leadership role, especially after being appointed as the stand-in captain for both Test and ODI formats during the West Indies tour, where the regular captain was sidelined with injury, Shanto’s leadership remains intact for the major international event.

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