Shanto steps down as Bangladesh Test captain

Najmul Hossain Shanto has stepped down as the captain of Bangladesh Test team, citing that he took the decision for the betterment of the team.
His decision came after Bangladesh 1-0 loss to Sri Lanka in two-match Test series, following an innings and 78 runs defeat in the second match in Colombo.

"I have an announcement to make," he said at the post match conference today. "I am stepping down from the Bangladesh Test captaincy. I don't want to continue as captain in this format."

 He said the decision doesn't stem from the personal issue rather it was purely taken for the greater interest of the team.
"And I want to give a clear message to everyone: this is not a personal matter. It is entirely for the betterment of the team, and I believe this will help the team."

Shanto was announced as Bangladesh's all-format captain in the last year but he later stepped down as T20 captain.

However before the Sri Lanka series, the board announced Mehidy Hasan Miraz as the captain of ODI format, making it three captains for three formats.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto clarified that the dismal batting show in the first innings led to his side's massive downfall in the second and final cricket Test against Sri Lanka, which they eventually lost by an innings and 78 runs margin Colombo.

Sri Lanka wrapped up the two-match series 1-0 by virtue of the victory that came in less than four days. Bangladesh survived just 34 balls on Day 4 before being all out for 133 in their second innings.

The first Test was drawn after Bangladesh dominated a large portion of the game but the same vigor was absent in their body language and in batting in the deciding match. 

"The way we batted in the first innings, that wasn't up to the mark and it cost us the game," Shanto lamented during the post-match conference in Colombo.

"I still feel we should have batted first. The way we got out wasn't good enough. We made a lot of mistakes with our batting in the first innings."

Bangladesh chose to bat first in an otherwise pretty flat deck but were bowled out for just 247 with no batters even could hit a half-century. The highest 46 came from the willow of opener Shadman Islam.

Sri Lanka replied with 458 all out, taking a handsome 211-run lead, thanks to a monumental 158 from opener Pathum Nissanka and a rapid 93 and 84 from Dinesh Chandimal and Kusal Mendis respectively.

Taijul Islam claimed five wickets and Nayeem Hasam took three and denied Sri Lanka a 500 plus total that looked on the cards. However as Bangladesh were bowled out cheaply in the first innings, Sri Lanka's lead grew massive.

Shanto praised his bowlers' effort, saying that the batters let them down.

"The way we bowled on day 3, was nice to see in such conditions. I hope those guys do well going forward," Shanto said.

"The way that we finished was very disappointing. We didn't play well in this Test, so we were disappointed with that."