Najmul Hossain Shanto to lead Bangladesh in home Tests against New Zealand

Bangladesh

Najmul Hossain Shanto to lead Bangladesh in home Tests against New Zealand

zihramedia

November 18, 2023

Najmul Hossain Shanto to lead Bangladesh in home Tests against New Zealand

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Najmul Hossain Shanto has been named Bangladesh Test captain for the two-match series at home against New Zealand starting later this month. Shanto was elevated after Litton Das, who was captain for the one-off Test against Afghanistan in Dhaka in June, was granted paternity leave for a month. Shakib Al Hasan, who Litton had replaced at the helm, is out with a fractured finger.

“Litton has been granted leave for one month, he is not available for the two Tests. He wants to spend time with his new-born baby,” Jalal Yunus, chairman of the BCB’s cricket operations committee, said. “We had requested him to play at least the second Test match but he insisted on [being away for] the whole series. That’s why we granted him leave. As a result, Najmul Hossain Shanto will captain the side in these two Tests.”

Shanto has played 23 Tests so far, and averages 29.83 with four centuries, but hasn’t led Bangladesh in the format prior to this. He has, however, captained them in three ODIs, including twice at the 2023 ODI World Cup when Shakib was out injured for the games against India and Australia.

Shakib’s immediate future in international cricket – including as the ODI captain for the series in New Zealand next month – remains unclear. There is the finger injury, of course, plus there was the TV interview before the World Cup, where he had outlined his retirement plans. Yunus said that the BCB hasn’t heard directly about his plans to leave the captaincy after the World Cup.

As for Tamim Iqbal, who missed the World Cup after a dramatic sequence of events, Yunus said that the BCB will meet the player on November 22. Tamim has been out of action since the ODI series against New Zealand at home in September.

Changes in Bangladesh coaching staff

Corey Collymore and David Hemp have been appointed on a temporary basis as the national team’s fast-bowling and batting coach, respectively.

Collymore, who will fill in the void created by Allan Donald’s departure after Bangladesh’s World Cup campaign, and Hemp are part of the BCB’s high-performance coaching set-up. As for Jamie Siddons, the batting coach till the World Cup, he is out of contract at the moment. Siddons could return to the position if his department, BCB’s Bangladesh Tigers, decides to renegotiate with him next year.

Spin-bowling coach Rangana Herath and fielding coach Shane McDermott will continue in their capacities till the end of their contracts on November 30 and December 31, respectively. Chandika Hathurusinghe, meanwhile, will continue as head coach, though S Sriram, the technical consultant till the end of the World Cup, has left.

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