Najmul Hossain Shanto Steps Down As T20I Captain; Litton Das Front-Runner To Take Over: Report
Reports suggest that Najmul Hossain Shanto has stepped down from his role as T20I Captain for the Bangladesh national team.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board have reportedly confirmed that Najmul Hossain Shanto has made the decision to step down from his role as the captain of the national team in the T20I format.
According to a report by Cricbuzz, Shanto was not keen on leading the side after the home series against South Africa. He initially decided to step down from captaincy duties only in the T20I format after the T20 World Cup 2024 held in the West Indies and the USA but subsequently decided to let go of the leadership role in all formats.
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But the BCB President Faruque Ahmed’s involvement meant that Shanto continued the role for the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan where he eventually picked up an injury.
“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 so we are not picking a new captain," a BCB official mentioned in the report.
If there is no injury issue Najmul will remain the captain in Test and ODIs and we have discussed it," he said.
It is suggested that Litton Das could take up the leadership role on a long-term basis after helping the team win 3-0 against the West Indies. But Shanto will be back in as captain for the upcoming Champions Trophy campaign and Mehedy Hasan could be the interim skipper for the West Indies’ 50-over and Test tour.
It also remains to be seen if veterans like Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal will be part of the national setup for the tournament.
He has won a total of three Tests out of 10 as captain. This includes the home game against New Zealand in 2023 along with the two away Tests against Pakistan last year. In ODIs he has four wins out of 11 and in T20Is, Shanto has led Bangladesh to 10 wins in 24 games as captain.
Since taking up captaincy, his batting record has taken a massive hit and by relieving himself from the leadership role, he could put more focus on his batting and help the team get some wins.
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