Nigar Sultana to relinquish Bangladesh T20I captaincy after Asian Games

Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batter Nigar Sultana has decided to give up the T20I captaincy once the Asian Games conclude. She has already communicated this to the Bangladesh Cricket Board, making clear that she wants to devote more energy to her batting and wicketkeeping rather than carry the added burden of leading the side in the shortest format. She will, however, remain in charge of the ODI team.

According to Cricbuzz, Nigar put her decision in writing to the board in a letter sent from Japan on September 15. BCB president Tamim Iqbal is understood to have accepted her request.

Why is Nigar Sultana stepping back from T20I leadership?

Nigar's reasoning centres on her desire to sharpen her individual contributions as a batter and wicketkeeper, a role she has carried simultaneously with the captaincy since 2022. By holding on to the ODI captaincy, she has signalled that this is not a complete withdrawal from leadership but a deliberate narrowing of her responsibilities in the T20I format.

Her record in the shortest format has been uneven. Bangladesh emerged as unbeaten champions in the World Cup qualifiers earlier in 2026, but a 2-1 home series defeat to Sri Lanka, mixed results across the Scotland-Netherlands tri-series and only two victories from five outings at the World Cup itself drew scrutiny of her T20I leadership in the months before this announcement.

What did Nigar Sultana achieve as Bangladesh T20I captain?

Nigar took charge of the T20I side in 2022 and guided Bangladesh through several significant moments over the following years. The clearest highlight of her tenure arrived at the 2024 T20 World Cup, where Bangladesh beat Scotland to claim a World Cup win for the first time in ten years. Nigar was central to that campaign both as a leader and as a performer, compiling 104 runs across four innings while also completing seven dismissals from behind the stumps.

With her departure from the T20I role now confirmed in principle, the BCB faces the task of identifying a new captain for the format. No successor had been named as of September 15, 2026, and the board has not publicly indicated a timeline for the appointment.