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Najmul Hossain Shanto (Source: Twitter)
Bangladesh's leadership landscape has undergone a significant shift with the appointment of Najmul Hossain Shanto as captain across all three formats. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan announced Shanto's one-year tenure as captain, marking a surprising turn of events, particularly in the T20I arena where Shakib Al Hasan was expected to lead until the upcoming T20 World Cup in June.
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The left-hand batter showcased strong leadership qualities during the recent Test series against New Zealand and in subsequent white-ball matches on the tour. His appointment signifies a departure from BCB's previous approach, now prioritizing younger cricketers for permanent leadership roles. While Shakib, Mahmudullah, and Mushfiqur Rahim remain integral to the national squads, Shanto's elevation to captain for a year reflects the board's readiness to transition away from relying solely on veteran players.
"We discussed at length about captaincy... The board has decided to appoint Nazmul Hossain Shanto as captain for all three formats for this year," youth and sports minister and BCB president Najmul Hassan Papon was quoted as saying by The Daily Star.
Shakib is definitely our first choice: Nasum
The BCB chief, Hassan also acknowledged considering Shakib as their top pick for captaincy across all formats. However, the board opted for Shanto after Shakib disclosed an eye condition. Hassan emphasized the urgency of the decision, indicating that they could not afford to delay the leadership appointment any further.
"We have elected (Najmul Hossain) Shanto as captain in all three formats.We discussed the national team captaincy for the longest time in this meeting. We spoke to Shakib, who told us that his eye problem hasn't gone away. We are not sure of his availability in the Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe home series. We also have to consider the T20 World Cup that's coming up. Shakib is definitely our first choice. But we don't want to stay in any uncertainty. We didn't want to delay the decision. We had the World Cup in mind so to run the team smoothly, we had to pick a captain," Hassan told a packed press conference following a board meeting in Mirpur on Monday.