Shanto likely to step down as captain in all formats

Bangladesh's all-format skipper, Najmul Hossain Shanto, is unlikely to continue leading after the conclusion of the ongoing Test series at home against South Africa. 

The Bangladesh Cricket Board appointed Najmul as captain across formats for one year in February 2024 and he was expected to lead the side in the Champions Trophy next year. However, Najmul has already informed the board about quitting from his post and is now waiting for approval of the board president Faruque Ahmed, who is currently abroad and expected to arrive soon.

"Yes, he informed us that he is not ready to lead the side after the South Africa series," a top BCB official confirmed to Indian cricket news website Cricbuzz. 

Shanto admitted to the website about his decision. "Let's see what happens (as far as leading Bangladesh is concerned) because I am still waiting to hear it from the president (BCB)," said the skipper without elaborating further.

A top BCB director is trying to convince him to reverse his decision, which seems unlikely at this moment in time. It was learnt that following the 2024 T20 World Cup, Najmul decided to step down from T20 captaincy but later changed his mind and wanted to quit from all three formats.

In the recent past Shanto's captaincy has come under scrutiny from several quarters after a prolonged lean patch. Another official of BCB said that if eventually Najmul doesn't agree to lead the side after the ongoing Test series against South Africa, then the board might opt to hand over the Test and ODI captaincy to Mehidy Hasan with Towhid Hridoy likely to take charge of the T20 side.

Shanto led Bangladesh in nine Tests and earned three wins and six losses with the highlight being a maiden Test series win over Pakistan. In the nine ODIs that he captained Bangladesh, they lost six and won three matches. In T20Is, he led the side in 24 games where he earned 10 wins.