Who Next To Lead Bangladesh In Tests
Author: Tom Penn
Updated At:
"I have an announcement to make" is never the words a cricket captain makes when he is about to signal the extension of his tenure and so it proved as Najmul Hossain Shanto followed up his six lines of intro with "I am stepping down from the Bangladesh Test captaincy. I don't want to continue as captain in this format."
So let's take a look back at the 26 year old left-handers time in charge of the Test team before running the rule over his potential successors!
Najmul Hossain Shanto Test Captain
The precocious teenager who made his Test debut in 2017 against New Zealand in Christchurch had to wait until November 2023 before he took charge of the side. Once again it was against New Zealand, although this time in Sylhet, and a second innings century from the new skipper played a large part in a 150 run victory.
But there were to be only three more Test wins across his 14 in charge with the biggest success coming during August last year when he led the team to a series victory over Pakistan.
| Tests | Wins | Draws | Defeats |
| 14 | 4 | 1 | 9 |
And as these things so often do, it all ended on a low-note. Last week he was the toast of Bangladesh cricket after hitting twin-tons during the first Test in Galle, which ended in a draw, but following the defeat by an innings and 78 runs in Colombo, it was time to depart.
Who Comes Next?
Captaining Bangladesh in any format comes with plenty of pressure from both the media and the Bangladesh Cricket Board - it is fair to say that the job is not for the fainthearted.
Litton Das
The 30 year old keeper-batter is the current skipper of the T20I team and has also led the Test team previously in one match. Could the man with 50 Tests to his name be the one to take on the job and offer calm leadership to get the best out of some young talent?
Mehidy Hasan Miraz
From one white-ball captain to another! Three years younger than Litton and the current ODI captain, the all-rounder has also stood in as Test captain before, doing so twice last year.
He is a regular across all formats and although it could be seen as a potential gamble to entrust an all-rounder with the job, Bangladesh may look at the impact of the talismanic Ben Stokes with England and look to Mehidy to do the same!
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