RELINQUISHED
Najmul Hossain Shanto was recently stripped off ODI captaincy © AFP
Najmul Hossain Shanto has stepped down as Bangladesh Test captain. Cricbuzz reported earlier that Najmul was unlikely to continue as Test skipper. Najmul announced his decision after Bangladesh’s defeat by an innings and 78 runs to Sri Lanka in Colombo on Saturday.
“I have an announcement to make,” he said at the post-match press conference. “I am stepping down from the Bangladesh Test captaincy. I don’t want to continue as captain in this format, and I want to give a clear message to everyone: this is not a personal matter. It is entirely for the betterment of the team, and I believe this will help the team.”
Najmul added that he didn’t feel Bangladesh needed three captains in three formats and thus decided to step down. Bangladesh recently handed over the ODI captaincy to Mehidy Hasan while Najmul earlier stepped down as T20I captain.
“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. The cricket board might think otherwise, and I fully respect that. In my view, having three captains will be difficult for the team. So, for the betterment of the team, I am stepping down,” he explained.
“If the cricket board feels they will continue with three captains in three formats, that will be their decision. 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. I want to make it clear again: this is for the betterment of the team. There is nothing personal here,” he added.
“I already informed the cricket operations department a few days back,” he said.
© Cricbuzz
