Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), on Thursday, announced the Test and ODI squad for the upcoming South Africa tour, starting March 18 in Centurion.
Experienced campaigners Tamim Iqbal and Shakib al Hasan have returned to the Test squad for the two-match series that will take place after the completion of the three-game ODI leg. Tamim will be leading the ODI side before joining the red-ball squad.
Notably, Tamim last played a Test against Sri Lanka in Pallekele in April 2021. He recovered from his knee injury before the Bangladesh Cricket League (BPL) to prepare for international cricket and also appeared in the three ODIs against Afghanistan, which Bangladesh won 3-0.
Shakib had earlier maintained that he might not be available for the Test series as he wanted to be part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. However, the star all-rounder went unsold at the mega-auction, which paved the way for his comeback in the whites.
“After a long time, we are getting our full squad, and we are excited about it. The return of Shakib and Tamim will naturally boost us up in the Test format. Khaled Ahmed can bowl fast, so we have included him in the ODI side,” said BCB chief selector Minhajul Abedin as quoted by Cricbuzz.
Both the ODI and Test series will be part of the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League and the ICC World Test Championship. Bangladesh are on top in the Super League while seventh in the WTC points table.
Test squad: Mominul Haque (Captain), Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib al Hasan, Liton Das, Yasir Ali Chowdhury, Taijul Islam, Mehidy Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Abu Jayed, Ebadot Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Shohidul Islam, Syed Khaled Ahmed, Shadman Islam, Nurul Hasan.
ODI squad: Tamim Iqbal (Captain), Liton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hassan, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Ebadot Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Yasir Ali Chowdhury, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Syed Khaled Ahmed
