Bangladesh Named Najmul Hossain Shanto Captain in All Formats

In all three formats, Bangladesh's captain will be Najmul Hossain Shanto. Captain Shanto has been given a one-year term as a captain, as stated by BCB President Nazmul Hassan. Shakib Al Hasan was expected to lead until the next T20 World Cup in June, but the news came unexpectedly.

Both on a white-ball tour of New Zealand and in the most recent Test match against New Zealand, Shanto led fabulously. With Shanto's appointment, the BCB is changing its approach to provide some of the younger players with long-term leadership positions. The international teams still have Shakib, Mahmudullah, and Mushfiqur Rahim, but Shanto's elevation to the position of 12-month captain indicates that the board is willing to let go of the highly regarded veterans.

Shakib was the 1st choice -

Shakib was the BCB's first option for captaincy in both formats, according to CEO Hassan, but after Shakib told them about an eye ailment, the board decided to go with Shanto. Hassan stated that they have to decide on the leadership immediately.

We have elected (Najmul Hossain) Shanto as captain in all three formats," Hassan told a packed press conference following a board meeting in Mirpur on Monday. "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 unsure 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 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.

Bangladesh coach had hinted at Shanto's elevation after the New Zealand series -

Soon after the New Zealand tour, Bangladesh's head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe commended Shanto's leadership and the team's competitive spirit. He conveyed to reporters:

The attitude of the players, this young group had no fear. They wanted to compete in the middle," Hathurusingha said after the final T20I. "The other thing… the leadership of Shanto. Outstanding. He was tactically spot on, and very clear with the messages with the players, and what he expects from them. And I thought we did the basics longer than before

I think they [the Bangladesh selectors] will strongly think about that (on making him the permanent captain)," Hathurusingha said. "Of course, it's a board decision, but Shanto has shown enough evidence for them to take him seriously

His first assignment would be the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka which begins on March 4.