Bangladesh appoint Najmul Hossain Shanto as all-format captain

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) permanently appointed 25-year-old Najmul Hossain Shanto as their men's captain for all three formats. The decision came after the BCB's ninth Board of Directors Meeting on Monday.

The board also named former captain Gazi Ashraf Hossain as the chief selector and former international cricketer Hannan Sarkar as a selector. They replaced Minhajul Abedin and Habibul Bashar in jobs, respectively.

Hossain led admirably against New Zealand in late 2023 in ODIs and T20Is in the absence of regular skipper Shakib Al Hasan and other senior players.

There, Bangladesh registered their first ODI win over New Zealand in an overall 2-1 loss in the series and drew the T20Is 1-1. Before that, he also led them to a 1-1 Test series draw at home, with the win also being a historic one.

Although overall he has won three and lost seven internationals as captain, he has looked quite proactive and composed with his leadership skills in New Zealand. Moreover, in every match he has led so far, Bangladesh haven't had their best 11 available.

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

Chandika Hathurusinghe, Bangladesh's head coach, praised Shanto's leadership and the competitive attitude of the team under him soon after the New Zealand tour. He told 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, 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.

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