Bangladesh Announce 15-Man Squad For T20 Series Against Pakistan

After successfully hosting Sri Lanka in all three formats, Pakistan will host another sub-continent nation in Bangladesh in the coming days. Tamim Iqbal has returned to the T20 side after missing the series against India. The 15-man squad also sees the return of Rubel Hossain along with Hasan Mahmud, who has earned his maiden call-up to the team.

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One of Bangladesh’s most experienced and best batsmen, Tamim Iqbal hasn’t played any cricket for the national team since the 2019 World Cup. His string of low scores forced him to take a break from the sport. He was slated to return for the three-match T20s in India; however, he pulled out due to personal reasons. Tamim last played a T20 international in December 2018 and recovered from a groin injury to take part in the upcoming series.

Bangladesh chief selector Minhajul Abedin spoke about Tamim’s inclusion by saying that they are delighted to have him back since they need some experienced campaigners in the team due to some seniors’ absence. Meanwhile, Rubel Hossain has been preferred due to his consistency in BPL and being a seasoned bowler. Earlier, wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim pulled out of the tour citing security reasons.

“There was a injury concern of Tamim but he was cleared and we are delighted to have him back as we need some senior guys in the team to lead from the considering some of our senior members are missing. As for Rubel he is in and out of the national team for the last one year but looked to be bowling consistently in one area in the BPL and we preferred him over others as he got the experience that might be essential to doing well in Pakistan.” selector Minhajul Abedin said as quoted by Cricbuzz.

Selector speaks about the quickest bowler:

Chief selector Minhajul Abedin addressed fast bowler Hasan Mahmud’s selection by saying that his inclusion has come on the backdrop of his searing pace. Abedin further believes that if the 20-year old is groomed well by the seniors in the dressing room, he can thrive well under pressure.

“Hasan is the quickest bowler for us at the moment and we included him just seeing his raw pace. We feel if he is nurtured in the national dressing room it will not take him long to make him capable of dealing the pressure of international cricket.” the chief selector said.

The first T20 international will begin on January 24th in Lahore before the second and the third game on 25th and 27th respectively in the same venue. The two-Test series will commence on the 7th of February.

Squad: Mahmudullah (c), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Moammad Naim, Najmul Hossain, Litton Das, Mohammad Mithun, Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan, Aminul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Al-Amin Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Hasan Mahmud

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