'I want to focus on my batting': Nigar Sultana steps down as Bangladesh T20I captain after Asian Games semi-final rout

Nigar Sultana calls time on Bangladesh T20I captaincy

Bangladesh women's captain Nigar Sultana has announced she is stepping down from the T20I captaincy, revealing on Sunday that she wants to devote the rest of her career to her batting. The wicketkeeper-batter had earlier informed the Bangladesh board that she did not wish to continue as T20I captain following the Asian Games.

There had been reports that Nigar chose to quit after not getting enough support from the board in tough times, but she firmly rejected that version of events.

"No, it's totally (false that I left because I was hurt). As a batter, as a player, I have a lot more to give to my country and my team. So I want to focus on that, and that's why I made this decision," Nigar told reporters following Bangladesh's heavy loss to India in the Asian Games semi-final.

Shafali Verma's maiden T20I century crushes Bangladesh

Nigar's announcement came on the back of one of Bangladesh's most one-sided defeats. Bowing out of the Asian Games 2026 gold medal race, Bangladesh were thrashed by 114 runs by India in Sunday's semi-final at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Japan.

Asked to bowl first, Bangladesh watched India pile up a huge total of 195 for 4, with opener Shafali Verma bringing up her maiden T20 international century in stunning fashion, hammering an unbeaten 100 off just 49 balls.

Any hope of a fightback disappeared almost immediately in the chase. Bangladesh looked completely helpless from the very beginning of their innings and eventually capitulated for 81 in 15.4 overs.

Nigar admitted that the big target posted by India had exposed Bangladesh's batting depth as they collapsed chasing huge runs.

"When you're chasing a big total, this kind of collapse is natural. With slightly better bowling, we could have restricted them to fewer runs," she said. "When a team collapses for so few runs, we as batters definitely took no responsibility. If even one top-order batter had stayed till the end, we could have added more runs."

She pointed to Sri Lanka posting 107 runs on the same surface against Pakistan earlier in the day as evidence that conditions were not the problem.

Preparation woes behind the collapse

Nigar also laid bare Bangladesh's troubled build-up to the tournament. Rain disrupted their training schedule in Japan, leaving the side with just two days of practice, while their group game against China was washed away. A planned warm-up match against China, she revealed, never materialised either.

"We have virtually no training facilities here. Had we played that first match against China, it would have been much better for the whole team. But we missed that opportunity too. Overall, I'll say the entire team played very poor cricket," said Nigar.

One final assignment: the bronze medal match

Bangladesh will now turn their attention to the bronze medal match against Pakistan — a fixture Nigar believes her side can win, and one she will lead them in for the final time in the T20 format.

"We have a good record against Pakistan. There is a sense of positivity there," she said as she prepares for her last game as Bangladesh's T20I captain.