Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Faruque Ahmed said that the board will soon sit regarding the national team's captaincy issue after Najmul Hossain Shanto's tenure as all-format skipper ended on December 31 last year.

"He [Shanto] is still our captain as we are yet to name a new one. He has returned from an injury recently. But the board will soon discuss the captaincy issue," Faruque told The Daily Star today.

However, Faruque hinted that Shanto may not continue as captain in the shortest format but the southpaw is likely to continue as skipper in the other two formats -- Tests and ODIs. Shanto was appointed as all-format skipper on February 12 last year.

Bangladesh's next international assignment is the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy which will be held in a hybrid model in Pakistan and the UAE from February 19 to March 9. After the ICC event, the Tigers will host Zimbabwe in a T20I series.    

He [Shanto] is still our captain as we are yet to name a new one.

— Faruque Ahmed, BCB president

Since the ICC T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA in June last year, Shanto's form and captaincy came under scrutiny, with the cricketer later informing some board officials regarding his willingness to step down as T20 skipper.

Before the start of the home Test series against South Africa in late October, there were media reports that suggested Shanto is unlikely to lead across all three formats after that series. However, following a meeting with the BCB boss in Chattogram after the second South Africa Test, the issue was settled for the time being.

Shanto then led Bangladesh in the opening two ODIs of the three-match series against Afghanistan before he missed the third game and the following West Indies tour, consisting two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is, due to a groin strain that he sustained during fielding in the second ODI in the UAE.

In the absence of Shanto, Mehedi Hasan Miraz led the Tigers in Tests and ODIs. The Miraz-led Bangladesh drew the two-match Test series and were clean-swept in the three-match ODI series away to the Windies. Meanwhile, Liton Das took charge of the T20 side and helped them to a historic 3-0 win over the Windies.

After a month-long rehabilitation, Shanto returned to the field through the National Cricket League T20 in Sylhet last month and he is currently playing for Fortune Barishal in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League T20.

Under Shanto's captaincy, Bangladesh won three out of their 10 Tests which included a 2-0 series win in Pakistan. The Tigers also won four out of 11 ODIs, including a 2-1 series win against Sri Lanka, and were victorious in 10 out of 24 T20Is under his captaincy. Shanto also led the side to the Super 8s of the T20 World Cup after 17 years.

However, Shanto's batting form at that time also became a major headache as he averaged 21.13 in Tests and 18.4 in T20Is in 2024 -- way below his career averages. Only in the ODIs, Shanto's batting average improved to a great extent as he scored at an average of 71.50 last year.