Nigar Sultana Joty is set to step down as Bangladesh women’s T20I captain after the Asian Games, with the BCB confirming it has received her resignation email.
A Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) official confirmed the development to TIMES of Bangladesh, while women’s wing chairman Rafiqul Islam Babu said Joty had expressed her intention to relinquish the captaincy.
“We have received the email. I haven’t checked it myself yet, but it is there. Our women’s team manager informed me,” Babu told TIMES.
Joty’s final assignment as captain is expected to be the Asian Games in Japan, where Bangladesh will begin their campaign against China in the quarter-final on September 17.
It is understood that Joty will continue as Bangladesh’s ODI captain. Babu, however, declined to comment further on the matter.
“It wouldn’t be right for me to say anything at this moment. Let me check more,” he said.
Joty’s decision comes after Bangladesh were knocked out of the recent Asia Cup following a semi-final defeat to India. Her recent batting form has also come under scrutiny, with the Bangladesh captain scoring 9, 0, 27, 36, 32, 32*, 10, 4, 23 and 19 in her last 10 innings.
Joty took over the T20I captaincy in 2022 and has led Bangladesh in 80 matches, winning 32, losing 47 and seeing one abandoned.
She is Bangladesh’s leading T20I run-scorer, with 2,709 runs at an average of 27.36 and a strike rate of 93.34, including 13 fifties and a century. As captain, she has scored 1,851 runs with 13 fifties.
Bangladesh will face China at 9:00am on September 17 in the Asian Games quarter-final. Pakistan will meet Thailand later that day, while Sri Lanka will face Malaysia and India will take on hosts Japan on September 18.
If Bangladesh beat China, they will play the semi-final on September 20. The bronze-medal match and final are scheduled for September 22.
