Najmul Hossain Resigns as Bangladesh Test Skipper Following Sri Lanka Defeat

Najmul Hossain has resigned from his position as Bangladesh Test captain. The announcement follows Bangladesh's significant loss to Sri Lanka in Colombo.

Najmul Hossain's captaincy under scrutiny after recent performance. © AFP

Addressing the media after the match, 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."

He emphasized that his decision was not personal but rather "entirely for the betterment of the team," expressing his belief that it would ultimately benefit the squad.

Najmul further explained his rationale, suggesting that Bangladesh might not require separate captains for each format of the game. He highlighted the recent appointment of Mehidy Hasan as ODI captain and his own previous 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... In my view, having three captains will be difficult for the team. So, for the betterment of the team, I am stepping down," he clarified.

He also addressed potential speculation regarding his motives: "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. I want to make it clear again: this is for the betterment of the team. There is nothing personal here."

Najmul confirmed that he had informed the cricket operations department of his decision several days prior to the public announcement.