Najmul quits as T20I captain

Najmul Hossain Shanto, Bangladesh’ across format skipper, decided to step down as T20I captain.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Cricket Board officials said Najmul is all set to lead Bangladesh in the Champions Trophy.

There was speculation that Mehedy Hasan might lead the side after being named as the captain of Test and ODI in the West Indies tour after the south paw was ruled out due to injury.

“Shanto (Najmul) finally told us that he won’t lead in the T20Is and we accepted it but as we don’t have T20I at the moment we have time in hand and so we are not picking a new captain,” a top BCB official confirmed Daily Sun on Thursday.

“If there is no injury issue Najmul will remain the captain in Test and ODIs and we had discussed and we discussed it,” he said.

Initially, Najmul decided to step down from T20 captaincy following the 2024 T20 World Cup but later changed his mind and wanted to quit from all three formats.

His decision to lead in any format was overturned after BCB president Faruque Ahmed got involved in the matter and the southpaw was named captain for the three-match ODIs against Afghanistan. There, he picked up the injury.

It is understood Liton Kumar Das, who insisted that he is ready to take up T20I captaincy on long term basis after guiding the team to 3-0 series win over West Indies in the three-match series, is all set to continue as the leader of the shorter format.