Najmul Hossain Shanto Steps Down as T20I Captain; New Leadership Expected Soon

After much speculation, Najmul Hossain Shanto has decided to step down as the captain of Bangladesh's T20I team. This decision comes after ongoing discussions about his leadership role in the format. The confirmation of his resignation was made by the President of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), Faruk Ahmed.

BCB President Faruk Ahmed shared the news with the media, stating, "Shanto has finally informed us that he will no longer captain the T20I team. We have accepted this decision. However, since we don’t have any T20I matches scheduled at the moment, we have time to think. We won’t be appointing a new captain right away. But if there are no injury concerns, Shanto will continue as the captain for both the ODI and Test formats."

Struggles in T20I Format: Najmul Hossain Shanto’s tenure as the T20I captain was challenging, with his personal performance also drawing criticism. Although he was the second-highest run scorer for Bangladesh last year, his strike rate of just 102 was seen as underwhelming. A few months ago, Shanto had expressed his desire to step down from the captaincy, but at that time, he decided to continue in the role.

Currently, Shanto remains the captain for the ODI and Test formats, with his leadership unaffected in these formats.

Possible Candidates for New T20I Captaincy: Although the BCB has not yet named a new T20I captain, several players have emerged as potential candidates. Leading the list is Litton Das, who led the team to a 3-0 whitewash against the West Indies. Litton has expressed his readiness to take on the leadership role for an extended period.

Other potential candidates include Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taskin Ahmed, both of whom have been considered for the captaincy based on their leadership qualities and experience.

With no immediate T20I matches on the calendar, the BCB will likely make an official announcement when the time comes for the next T20I series.