Najmul Hossain Resigns as Bangladesh Test Captain Following Sri Lanka Defeat

Najmul Hossain has resigned from his position as the Bangladesh Test captain, a decision made public following the team's significant defeat against Sri Lanka in Colombo.

Najmul Hossain Shanto's ODI captaincy recently ended © AFP

The announcement came after Bangladesh's innings and 78-run loss to Sri Lanka. Speculation about Najmul's future as Test captain had been circulating, with Cricbuzz reporting earlier that he was unlikely to continue in the role.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Najmul stated, "I have an announcement to make. 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 elaborated that his decision stemmed from a belief that Bangladesh didn't require separate captains for each of the three formats of the game. This follows Bangladesh's recent appointment of Mehidy Hasan as ODI captain, and Najmul's earlier resignation 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. This is completely my personal opinion... In my view, having three captains will be difficult for the team. So, for the betterment of the team, I am stepping down," he explained.

Najmul also addressed concerns that his decision was influenced by the ODI captaincy change. "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 confirmed that he had communicated his decision to the cricket operations department a few days prior to the public announcement.