In the wake of Bangladesh’s heavy innings defeat to Sri Lanka in Colombo, Najmul Hossain Shanto has stepped down as Test captain, ending his leadership stint just months after taking over the red-ball role. The announcement came after Bangladesh lost the second Test by an innings and 78 runs, sealing a 1-0 series defeat and a missed opportunity to gain valuable points in the World Test Championship 2025–27 cycle.
Shanto, speaking after the match, confirmed that the decision was not driven by emotion or personal disappointment, but aimed at the team’s long-term stability. “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,” Shanto said, adding that he had already informed the cricket operations department ahead of the final Test.
The 25-year-old further elaborated on his concerns over leadership fragmentation across formats. “I think three captains [for the three international formats] is not sensible… 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,” he said, referring to the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s decision earlier this year to replace him with Mehidy Hasan Miraz as the ODI captain. Litton Das currently leads the T20I team.
Shanto’s resignation from the Test leadership comes after a short but eventful tenure. Since taking charge, he led Bangladesh in 14 Tests, winning four, including a historic whitewash in Pakistan in August 2023 and a home win over New Zealand in Sylhet. Notably, he became the first Bangladeshi captain to score twin centuries in a Test match in Sri Lanka and averaged a respectable 36.24 with the bat during his leadership period.
This move follows his earlier decision to relinquish the T20I captaincy earlier in the year, although he had expressed a desire to continue leading in the ODI format. With the Test side now without a captain, Bangladesh Cricket Board faces a key decision ahead of their next red-ball assignment against Ireland in October.