Najmul Hossain Shanto has been dropped for a second consecutive T20I series.
Former Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto was dropped from the team’s 16-member squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Pakistan.
This is the second consecutive series that Najmul has been dropped for, after having been overlooked for the recent T20I series against Sri Lanka. In January 2025, the 26-year-old stepped down as Bangladesh captain with Litton Das taking over.
In June, Mehidy Hasan Miraz also took over as Bangladesh ODI skipper from Najmul Hossain Shanto, and in the same month, Shanto also quit as Bangladesh Test captain. That was after a 1-0 Test series defeat to Sri Lanka.
Najmul Hossain Shanto has endured a poor run of form in T20Is in recent times. He hasn’t scored a half-century since March 2024, when he hot an unbeaten 53 against Sri Lanka in Sylhet. Since then, Najmul has played 20 T20Is but has only aggregated 312 runs at an average of 16.42. His highest score is that of a knock of 41 against Australia in North Sound during the 2024 T20 World Cup.
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The road may not be over just yet for Najmul Hossain Shanto, but his time might be running out. Mohammad Naim had replaced Najmul Hossain Shanto in the T20I squad against Sri Lanka and the batter will once again replace the former captain for the series against Pakistan.
Mohammad Naim, though, played just one match in the series against Sri Lanka, scoring an unbeaten 32 runs from 29 balls in the series opener in Pallekele. However, his strike-rate of 110.34 was unimpressive as he ended up hitting just one four and one six.
Najmul Hossain Shanto, on the other hand, must make a significant improvement to his strike-rate. His overall strike-rate in the shortest format for the Tigers read an underwhelming 109.06 and that has reduced to 104.61 in T20Is he has played since 2024. In the last 12 months, it’s even worse for Shanto, who has scored just 79 runs from four matches.
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With the limited-overs series against India now deferred to September 2026, Bangladesh are not scheduled to play T20Is. However, Najmul will have to work hard and make every opportunity count if he is to have hopes of making the Bangladesh T20I squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup that will take place in India and Sri Lanka.
All three T20Is will be played at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka with the matches taking place on July 20, July 22 and July 24.
Bangladesh squad for T20I series against Pakistan: Litton Das (Captain), Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Mohammad Naim, Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali, Shamim Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rishad Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mohammad Saifuddin.
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