New Face in Tigers’ T20 Squad for Pak Tour

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) today announced Bangladesh T20 squad for Pakistan tour.

20-year-old right-arm pacer Hasan Mahmud earned his maiden call to the national team while Mehedi Hasan Rana was overlooked despite performing brilliantly in the just-concluded Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

Mahmudullah Riyad will lead the side in the upcoming T20I series. Bangladesh team will fly for Pakistan on January 23 and the matches will take place on January 24, 25 and 27 at Lahore.

There are five changes in the newly-announced squad from the previous squad. Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Abu Hider Rony, Arafat Sunny, and Taijul Islam lost their place in the team while Mushfiqur Rahim withdrew himself from the tour due to security concerns.

Tamim Iqbal comes back to the T20 squad after he opted out of the India tour because of personal reasons. Along with Tamim, Rubel Hossain returns to the squad after a gap of more than one year.

Mahedi Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto are making their comeback. Mahedi last played for the national team in February 2018 while Najmul last played for his country during the T20I against Afghanistan on September 21, 2019.

As the fifth change, Hasan Mahmud got his maiden call to the Bangladesh squad. Hasan got his T20 cap after taking 13 wickets in 10 matches during this year’s BPL. He drew the attention of the selectors with his ability of bowling at a decent pace. Hasan played his first BPL for Dhaka Platoon under the captaincy of Mashrafe Bin Mortaza.

Mahedi and Najmul were picked on the back of their terrific performance in BPL. Mahedi scored 253 runs in 13 games with three fifties and took 12 wickets as well while Najmul piled up 308 runs with a century and a fifty to his name. He came to the limelight with a ton which was only the fifth century by a Bangladeshi batsman in BPL history.

Bangladesh T20 squad for Pakistan series: Mahmudullah Riyad (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Naim, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Litton Das, Mohammad Mithun, Afif Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Aminul Islam Biplob, Mustafizur Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Al-Amin Hossain, Rubel Hossain, and Hasan Mahmud.

Source: UNB