Shanto set to be dropped, who is the next captain?

Bangladesh's journey in the Champions Trophy ended before the tournament could conclude. Prior to the tournament, captain Najmul Hossain Shanto had set a goal of winning the championship. His optimistic remarks were well-received by Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president, Faruk Ahmed, who said, "You can’t win every match, but I appreciate the captain’s confidence. I believe they are playing without pressure." However, the team failed to live up to Shanto's bold words. Bangladesh lost to India and New Zealand with little resistance, and the final match against Pakistan was abandoned due to rain. As a result, Shanto’s confidence is now being mocked, and the team’s poor performance has led to widespread criticism. Consequently, his leadership is now under scrutiny.

Following the Champions Trophy failure, the captaincy will be reviewed in an upcoming BCB meeting. The meeting is scheduled for Monday (March 3) at the BCB office in Mirpur. A decision may be made to replace Shanto with a new captain for the Test and ODI teams. Rumors had circulated in October of last year suggesting that Shanto might step down from the captaincy.

Shanto had previously expressed his desire to step down from the captaincy. After serving for 11 months, he resigned as the T20I captain before the Champions Trophy, but the BCB did not appoint a new captain for the T20I team, leaving the position vacant. Faruk Ahmed had stated, "Since we don't have T20I matches for now and we have time, we won't appoint a new captain right away." In February of the previous year, Shanto was given the responsibility of leading Bangladesh in all formats. To date, he has captained the team in 47 matches across all formats, but his success rate has been underwhelming, with only a 36% win record.

Next month, Bangladesh will play a three-match T20I series at home against Zimbabwe. As a result, the BCB meeting will finalize the captain for the T20I team. It is almost certain that Litton Kumar Das, who led Bangladesh to a 3-0 T20I series victory on the recent West Indies tour, will be the top candidate for the role of new captain. Although Litton was not included in the Champions Trophy squad due to his poor form, he has captained Bangladesh in 12 matches, winning 7 with a success rate of 58%.

Along with the T20I captaincy, the BCB is also considering appointing new captains for the Test and ODI teams. They had chosen not to change leadership before a major tournament like the Champions Trophy, which is why Shanto remained as captain. Now, however, there could be a leadership change in both formats. If Shanto is removed from the captaincy following Bangladesh's failure in the Champions Trophy, the question arises: who will take over? All-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who has been Shanto's deputy, is a strong contender. He has extensive leadership experience in domestic cricket, including the BPL and U-19 World Cup, and also served as stand-in captain for Bangladesh in 6 matches last year. It remains to be seen whether Shanto will continue as captain or if the role will be passed to someone else.