Nahida Akter has been appointed as the new T20I captain of the Bangladesh women’s national cricket team. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced Nahida Akter’s appointment as the T20I captain on Sunday, October 18, taking over from Nigar Sultana.

Sobhana Mostary has been named the new vice-captain of the Bangladesh women’s national cricket team in the shorter format of the game, as confirmed by the BCB on Sunday. Amid this, Keemo Paul out, Shamar Springer in as West Indies announce change for Bangladesh Tests.

Nahida Akter replaces Nigar Sultana as Bangladesh announce new T20I Captain

Nahida Akter was already considered the leading candidate for Bangladesh’s captaincy after Nigar Sultana decided to step down following the Asian Games 2026. The wicketkeeper-batter wants to focus more on her own game and will continue to lead Bangladesh in ODI cricket.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has taken he decision after discussions with members of the selection panel and other officials. Nahida has been the team’s vice-captain since Sultana became T20I captain in 2022, and the BCB believes that she is now ready to take charge of the side.

BCB women’s wing chairman Rafiqul Islam was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz, "We sat with members of the selection panel along with others and decided to hand over the T20I captaincy to Nahida. Sobhana Mostary will be her deputy. Nahida has been the vice-captain for a pretty long time, and now we feel the time is right to give her the responsibility of our T20I squad.”

Nahida Akter and Sobhana Mostary's T20I stats

Notably, Nahida Akter is Bangladesh’s leading wicket-taker in women’s T20Is, with 132 wickets in 113 matches at an impressive average of 17.38. She has two four-wicket hauls and one five-wicket haul to her name in the shorter format of the game.

On the other hand, Sobhana Mostary has scored 1160 runs in 72 T20I matches at an average of 19.33 and a strike rate of 94.92. Mostary could smash only one half-century in the format for Bangladesh.

Rift with BCB behind Nigar Sultana’s T20I captaincy resignation?

Meanwhile, Nigar Sultana’s decision to leave the T20I captaincy reportedly came as a surprise to the BCB. However, it is being said that Sultana was not happy with the way the BCB had treated her in recent times. However, she will remain the ODI captain of the Bangladesh women’s national cricket team and recently led the team during their three-match ODI in Australia.

Nahida’s first major assignment as Bangladesh’s T20I captain will be important. Actually, they are scheduled to compete in the ICC Women’s Emerging Nations Trophy in Thailand, where their campaign will begin against Pakistan on November 12.

Bangladesh face big defeat against Zimbabwe in ODI Tri-Series opener

Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s men’s cricket team is currently playing in the ODI Tri-Series in the UAE, involving Zimbabwe and Afghanistan as well. In the first match, Bangladesh were bowled out for 172 while chasing 272 runs for victory over Zimbabwe at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

The Tigers suffered a 99-run defeat in the ODI Tri-Series opener on Saturday, October 17. Bangladesh will next play Afghanistan in the series on October 21 in Sharjah.