In an unexpected turn of events, Nigar Sultana has chosen to step down as the captain of the Bangladesh women’s T20I team after the upcoming Asian Games. The decision has caught the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) entirely off guard, leaving senior officials puzzled over what triggered the sudden move just days before a major event.
The announcement emerged on Tuesday, September 15, when it was revealed that Nigar had sent an email to the board detailing her intentions. She explained that she wants to focus heavily on her batting and wicketkeeping duties while stepping away from the shortest format’s leadership, though she intends to continue captaining the ODI squad. Crucially, this development surfaced a mere two days before Bangladesh is scheduled to play its opening Asian Games match against China on September 17.
Rafiqul Islam Babu, the chairman of the BCB women’s wing, expressed his surprise on Wednesday, noting that the board will address the situation once the squad returns from the tournament. “I honestly don’t know why she suddenly decided to step down,” Rafiqul stated, noting that Nigar’s email indicated she no longer felt comfortable in the role and wished to limit her captaincy to the 50-over format.
Expressing some frustration over the timing of the announcement, Rafiqul added that the pre-tournament timing was both embarrassing and deeply disappointing. He suggested that any internal problems could have been discussed and resolved collectively after their return, confirming that he and Tamim Iqbal will deliberate on the matter and map out the next steps once the campaign concludes.
Nigar has been at the helm of the T20I side since 2022. Under her leadership, the team celebrated a historic milestone at the 2024 T20 World Cup, where they defeated Scotland to secure their first tournament victory in ten years. She played an instrumental role in that tournament, scoring 104 runs across four innings and claiming seven dismissals behind the stumps.
Despite these high points, her captaincy has faced intense scrutiny. Although Bangladesh went undefeated to win the World Cup qualifiers earlier in 2026, subsequent performances have been inconsistent. A 2-1 home series defeat against Sri Lanka, mixed performances in a tri-series involving Scotland and the Netherlands, and securing only two victories out of five matches at the World Cup ultimately put her leadership under the spotlight. The report also notes that wishing to stay in the 50-over format while stepping away from T20s, an email was sent regarding this matter, the player does not feel comfortable and expressed a desire to focus more on batting and wicketkeeping.
