Nahida Akter Takes Bangladesh T20I Captaincy for One Year, With Pakistan First Up

Bangladesh turns to its leading wicket taker

Nahida Akter, Bangladesh's leading wicket taker in women's Twenty20 internationals, has been appointed captain for one year, with her first assignment scheduled to begin against Pakistan in Thailand on November 12, 2026. Batter Sobhana Mostary will serve as vice captain as Bangladesh changes its leadership before the next stage of preparations for the 2028 ICC Women's T20 World Cup.

The appointment, confirmed on October 18, promotes a player who has taken 132 wickets in 113 T20 internationals and served as Nigar Sultana Joty's deputy since 2022. Joty has stepped down from the T20I captaincy to concentrate on her batting, while retaining responsibility for Bangladesh's one day international side.

The International Cricket Council's captaincy announcement confirms Nahida's appointment, Mostary's new role and the board's plan to review the leadership after a year. The change gives Bangladesh separate captains in its two limited overs formats, while keeping both players within the team's leadership structure.

Bangladesh Cricket Board women's wing chairman Rafiqul Islam Babu said the appointment followed consultations with key personnel. Explaining the length of Nahida's term and the next decision facing the board, he said:

We have held discussions with key personnel and decided to give Nahida the captaincy in T20Is. Sobhana Mostary will be the vice-captain. Nahida has been given the role for a year, after which we will assess the situation and decide on the next step ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup in 2028.

Nahida therefore begins with a defined period in charge. The board has set a review point before the 2028 tournament rather than announcing that she will lead Bangladesh throughout the entire World Cup cycle.

Four years as deputy lead to the top job

Nahida's promotion follows roughly four years as Joty's vice captain. She took that position when Joty became T20I captain in 2022, giving her experience within the leadership group before assuming full responsibility.

Rafiqul said discussions included members of the selection panel and others involved with the team. He also explained that Nahida's time as deputy helped persuade the board that she was ready to take over.

"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," he said.

The BCB women's wing chairman described the reasoning behind the promotion:

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.

Bangladesh is putting an established international player in charge rather than asking a newcomer to learn leadership alongside international cricket. Nahida made her international debut in September 2015 and has since played more than a decade at that level. Her experience stretches across both T20Is and ODIs, the two formats in which she will now have different captains.

The bowling record behind the appointment

Nahida's 132 T20I wickets are the most by a Bangladesh woman. Her bowling average is 17.38, meaning she has conceded about 17 runs for each wicket taken across her career. Her best figures are five wickets for eight runs in a match.

Those numbers explain the scale of the responsibility Bangladesh is placing on her. A T20I gives each side a maximum of 20 overs, with six legal deliveries in each over. Taking wickets can interrupt a batting side's progress and force new batters to settle in while time is running out.

Nahida took five wickets against Pakistan in 2023 and three in Bangladesh's victory over the same opponent at the 2026 T20 World Cup. Pakistan is also scheduled to be her first opponent as the new captain, giving the opening match a familiar challenge for the spinner.

Her experience extends to 65 ODIs, in which she has taken 81 wickets. She has contributed to Bangladesh's ODI victories against Pakistan, West Indies and South Africa during the past three years. Her tally of 132 T20I wickets also places her fifth among women representing ICC Full Member countries, the governing body's highest membership category.

Mostary brings batting experience to the leadership pair

Sobhana Mostary takes over as vice captain with 72 T20 internationals behind her. The 24 year old batter has passed 1,000 runs in the format, becoming the third Bangladesh woman to reach that mark after Joty and Fargana Hoque.

Mostary also arrives in the role after scoring an ODI century against Australia earlier in October. A century means scoring at least 100 runs in an innings. She became only the third Bangladesh woman to achieve that feat in ODIs, adding a major batting milestone shortly before her leadership appointment.

Nahida and Mostary bring different playing responsibilities to the new partnership. Nahida is a specialist spinner, while Mostary bats in the middle order, the part of the lineup that follows the opening batters. Their combined experience totals 185 T20I appearances, calculated from Nahida's 113 and Mostary's 72.

Mostary's appointment also changes the supporting leadership role Nahida previously held. Bangladesh will enter the Thailand tournament with both a new captain and a new deputy, although both are established members of the national side.

Joty stays in the team picture and keeps ODI command

Joty led Bangladesh in 82 T20 matches, with the team winning 32. That works out to about 39 percent of the matches she captained. Her departure from the role followed difficult performances in the Asia Cup and Asian Games, with her stated aim being to focus on her batting.

The ICC announcement places her decision in September. Accounts of the leadership change also describe tension around her departure: Joty was understood to feel that her captaincy had been questioned unfairly, while the BCB maintained that it had not intended to replace her and was surprised by her decision.

Joty remains Bangladesh's ODI captain and recently led the side in a series of three matches against Australia. The arrangement means Nahida will lead the shorter format, while Joty continues to direct the team in matches allowing up to 50 overs per side.

Joty has also said she is ready to keep playing alongside Nahida if selected. The immediate change is therefore in who makes the captain's decisions during T20Is, with the former captain still available as a batter and teammate.

A public promise of support

Joty congratulated Nahida on social media after the appointment. The outgoing T20I captain expressed confidence in her successor's ability and leadership:

Heartfelt congratulations to Nahida, the new captain of the T20I team. I wish her all the best in this new role. I believe she will play an important role in taking the team forward with her ability and leadership.

Joty also addressed how she intended to work with Nahida after their roles changed. She presented the transition as a shared effort to help Bangladesh rather than a departure from the team's ambitions:

Our roles in the team have changed, but our passion for the red and green flag remains the same, as does our goal of taking Bangladesh cricket forward. As a teammate, I stand by Nahida and will continue to do so. I am always ready to provide whatever support I can for the team's success.

Nahida will take charge of a squad in which her predecessor remains an experienced international player and captain in another format. Joty's public commitment gives the new leadership pair a clear statement of support before their first tournament together.

Thailand provides the first test

Bangladesh's next assignment is the ICC Women's Emerging Nations Trophy in Thailand, scheduled for November 12 to 25. The team's campaign is due to open against Pakistan on November 12, less than a month after Nahida's appointment.

Pakistan has featured in two of Nahida's prominent bowling performances: the five wickets she took in 2023 and her three wickets in Bangladesh's World Cup victory in 2026. The opening fixture will now ask her to combine her own bowling role with responsibility for directing the whole side.

The main dates show how quickly the transition moves from announcement to competition:

• September 2015: Nahida makes her international debut for Bangladesh.
• 2022: Joty takes charge of the T20I team, with Nahida serving as her deputy.
• September 2026: Joty steps down from the T20I captaincy, according to the ICC announcement.
• October 18, 2026: Nahida is confirmed as captain and Mostary as vice captain.
• November 12, 2026: Bangladesh is scheduled to begin its Thailand campaign against Pakistan.
• November 25, 2026: The Emerging Nations Trophy is scheduled to conclude.

Bangladesh's new captain will have this tournament as her first opportunity to establish how she leads on the field. Mostary will begin her deputy's role at the same event, while Joty's availability preserves experience from the previous leadership group.

A review before the 2028 World Cup

The BCB has linked Nahida's initial year in charge to a later decision about preparations for the 2028 T20 World Cup. A review after that first year gives the board a point at which to assess the arrangement before deciding its next step.

No exact review date or public performance targets were announced. For now, the concrete commitments are the year entrusted to Nahida, Mostary's appointment as deputy and the November tournament that starts their partnership.

Bangladesh enters that period with its leading T20I wicket taker promoted, a batter with recent success against Australia as deputy and its former T20I captain still leading the ODI side. The first results under the new arrangement will come in Thailand, beginning with Pakistan.

Key Points

• Nahida Akter has been appointed Bangladesh women's T20I captain for one year, with a review to follow.
• She has taken a national record 132 wickets in 113 women's T20 internationals and served as deputy since 2022.
• Sobhana Mostary is the new vice captain, bringing 72 T20I appearances and more than 1,000 runs in the format.
• Nigar Sultana Joty stepped down to focus on batting, remains ODI captain and has pledged support for Nahida.
• Bangladesh is scheduled to face Pakistan in Thailand on November 12 at the start of its Emerging Nations Trophy campaign.
• The BCB plans to assess the captaincy after a year before deciding its next step toward the 2028 T20 World Cup.