Najmul Hossain Shanto’s time as Bangladesh’s Test captain may be coming to an abrupt end. A report from Cricbuzz suggests he’s ready to step down right after the current series against Sri Lanka, fed up with the politics inside the cricket board.
The tipping point was reportedly the board’s decision to strip him of his One Day International (ODI) captaincy, and sources say his mind is already made up. He’s expected to make it official with the board very soon.
Captaincy tenure and internal tension
Shanto was appointed Test captain for a one-year term. Initially, he had stepped down from T20 leadership to focus on batting, but chose to continue leading the Test and ODI sides after a discussion with then-BCB president Faruq Ahmed.
That arrangement changed abruptly.
On June 12, the BCB announced through a surprise Zoom meeting that Mehidy Hasan Miraz would lead the ODI team for the next year. Shanto received the news not through a board session or a scheduled agenda item, but via a phone call from BCB’s Cricket Operations Chairman Nazmul Abedin—while he was preparing to meet coach Phil Simmons to discuss the ODI squad.
The move apparently came out of nowhere, leaving Shanto feeling completely blindsided. He was already deep in the work for the upcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka—even pulling key players aside to walk them through his game plan.
Private frustration vs. public response
While the BCB’s new president Aminul Islam publicly claimed that Shanto accepted the decision “gracefully” and was “not upset,” people close to the player say otherwise.
One anonymous source told Cricbuzz, “I don’t think he will continue as Test captain after the Sri Lanka series. He is clearly not happy.”
According to insiders, Shanto held private conversations with close contacts and has already signaled his decision to step aside.
Unusual leadership transition raises eyebrows
In Bangladesh cricket, leadership changes are usually discussed in board meetings and followed by formal announcements. In Shanto’s case, that process was skipped. His removal came suddenly and informally.
Shanto reportedly left a meeting room without sitting down for a planned discussion with coach Simmons after learning of the captaincy change.
Though the board says everything was handled properly, the timeline and approach have raised questions about internal communication and transparency.
What happens next
The silence coming from both Shanto and the BCB is what makes this whole thing feel so real. While they’re battling Sri Lanka on the field, no one dares even whisper about who could replace him. Let’s face it: for a team still reeling from a chaotic front-office shuffle, losing their captain now would be a body blow.
At this point, who cares how many runs he scores? His entire future is riding on what he does the second this series is over.
