Former national skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto refused to take Test captaincy after being offered by Bangladesh Cricket Board recently.

Daily Sun understands the left-handed batsman, who earlier quit as Test captain after his ODI captaincy was literally snatched away by the board and handed over to Mehidy Hasan Miraz, already informed the board he is not interested to take up the Test captaincy at present after the post went vacant following his decision to step-down.

Bangladesh are looking for a suitable leader to lead the Test squad and apparently looking to replace Shanto with current T20I skipper Litton Das. BCB is waiting for his consent as they are scheduled to play against Ireland in November.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz, current ODI skipper who also had shown interest to lead the Test squad, is unlikely to get the baton of the Test squad after his ODI captaincy came under scrutiny as he failed to live up to the expectation and many inside the board is apprehensive whether his tenure will be extended after completing the one-year period that began from 12 June.

While giving ODI captaincy to Miraz, BCB insisted that they want to have three captains in three formats but as now that looks highly unlikely as BCB president Aminul Islam Bulbul recently insisted that there is no hard and fast rule that they will have to have three captains.

“For Test cricket, we have a clear policy. Several discussions will take place — among the board, selectors, and top coaching staff — to identify the most suitable candidate. The player chosen must also agree to take on the role,” Bulbul told reporters during the third ODI match between Bangladesh and West Indies at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on October 23.

The BCB boss also hinted at flexibility regarding the multi-captain approach.

“There is no hard and fast rule that there must be three captains,” Bulbul noted. “It could be one person doing all three, one person doing two, or one person doing one. It depends on discussions and what’s best for the team.”

BCB can still stay with their stance of having three captains in three formats if they wish to have other options to lead the Test squad like Taijul Islam and Mominul Haque.

Taijul earlier expressed in public that he wish to lead the Test team while Mominul Haque, who had earlier step down as Test captain in May 2022, told Daily Sun that he is ready to reconsider Test captaincy if board make that offer.

“It is not a fact that I have closed all my doors as far as leading Bangladesh team is concerned and if the board offers me certainly I can give it a thought if the board offers me again,” said Mominul.

The decision regarding Test captaincy will be taken in the next board meeting scheduled on 2 November.