Shanto steps down as Bangladesh T-20 captain

Najmul Hossain Shanto made headlines by unexpectedly stepping down as captain of the Bangladesh T-20 side. He has officially informed the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) in this regard.

Earlier, it was reported that Shanto intended to leave the captaincy of all three formats (Test, ODI, and T20) due to personal reasons. However, he has now officially stepped down as captain of T-20.

Faruk Ahmed, president of BCB, confirmed this to the media.

"Shanto has officially confirmed his resignation from T20 captaincy and will no longer lead the T-20 team. We have to accept this. However, if Shanto remains injury-free, he will continue as captain for ODIs and Tests," he said.

Meanwhile, Litton Kumar Das is now the frontrunner for the Bangladesh T20 captaincy. Under his leadership, Bangladesh recently won series in the West Indies by 3-0, a major success that has boosted his position. While Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taskin Ahmed are also in the conversation, they are slightly behind—Taskin due to his injury risk and Miraz due to his lack of stability in the team.

Shanto was appointed captain of all three formats in February last year. However, despite leading the team, his performance has not been stellar, particularly in the T-20 format, where he has been struggling with a run drought. He has failed to score a fifty in his last 19 matches, which has led to criticism.

However, the board has not yet made a final decision on the new T-20 captain.

The Tigers played their last T20 match against India in Hyderabad last October under Shanto's captaincy.