BANGLADESH NEWS
Shanto hadn’t been offered an extension after his tenure ended with the 2025 Champions Trophy. © Getty
Bangladesh Cricket Board official said that the uproar regarding Najmul Hossain Shanto’s removal from ODI captaincy was baseless as Bangladesh did not have an ODI captain at that time considering his tenure had ended with the 2025 Champions Trophy.
BCB cricket operations chairman Nazmul Abedin copped severe criticism after appointing Mehidy Hasan Miraz as ODI captain in place of an extension for Shanto just ahead of the tour of Sri Lanka. Miraz then announced that there will be no problem in the dressing room following the sudden change in captaincy.
Many in the cricketing fraternity feel that Shanto stepped down from Test captaincy after feeling insulted with the turn of events as he was expecting to lead the ODI side, though Nazmul begs to differ. Nazmul eventually broke his silence regarding the matter during a talk show called Saturday Night, aired on Jamuna TV on July 19.
“We did not have any ODI captain after the Champions Trophy. It is not true that Shanto was removed from his captaincy. In fact, there was no captain,” Nazmul was quoted in the show. “Shanto might have assumed he would lead in the next series since he was the previous captain. There’s nothing wrong in thinking that. But the board may have had other plans. Yes, the board could have appointed Shanto again, but that would have required a separate announcement,” he explained.
“As we did not have a captain at that time, there was no question of holding discussions with Shanto. A decision was taken in a meeting, and it was communicated to Shanto as he was the previous captain. Yes, there could have been a discussion with him, but it’s not true that he was removed from captaincy,” Nazmul clarified.
“The captaincy decision was taken in a meeting, and it was my responsibility to inform both Shanto and Mehidy Hasan Miraz. There were no other terms or conditions involved. That’s why I informed Shanto first,” he added.
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