Najmul Hossain Resigns as Bangladesh Test Captain After Sri Lanka Defeat

Najmul Hossain has resigned from his position as the Bangladesh Test captain. This announcement follows Bangladesh's defeat to Sri Lanka in Colombo.

Najmul Hossain Shanto was recently stripped off ODI captaincy © AFP

At the post-match press conference, Najmul Hossain stated, "I am stepping down from the Bangladesh Test captaincy. I don't want to continue as captain in this format... this is not a personal matter. It is entirely for the betterment of the team, and I believe this will help the team."

He further explained his belief that Bangladesh does not need separate captains for each format of the game. Mehidy Hasan was recently appointed as the ODI captain, and Najmul had previously 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... In my view, having three captains will be difficult for the team. So, for the betterment of the team, I am stepping down," he said.

Najmul clarified that his decision was not influenced by being overlooked for the ODI captaincy. "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... this is for the betterment of the team. There is nothing personal here," he emphasized.

He also mentioned that he had informed the cricket operations department of his decision a few days prior to the public announcement.