The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), announced their 15-member squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Pakistan on Saturday.
Opener Tamim Iqbal made a comeback to the national side. The left-handed batsman last played a T20I match in December 2018 against West Indies.
Mosaddek Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Taijul Islam, and Abu Hider have been dropped.
The wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim has declined to tour Pakistan due to security concerns. Mushfiqur revealed that his family is afraid of the security condition, and hence he pulled himself out of the tour.
“I have already informed BCB that I am not going to Pakistan for the upcoming series. I have submitted an official letter, and BCB accepted that. Not just T20Is, I am unavailable for the entire series,” Mushfiqur told the media as quoted by Times Now.
“My family is afraid of the security condition of Pakistan. In this situation, I can’t go to Pakistan and play cricket there. It is always tough for me to sit down from a series of Bangladesh national team,” Mushfiqur added.
Rubel Hossain, the right-arm fast bowler, also made a comeback in the squad. He bagged 20 wickets from 13 games in the recently concluded Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), whereas a 20-year-old pacer, Hasan Mahmud, has earned his maiden international call-up.
The first T20I will take place on Friday (Jan 24) at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Here is Bangladesh’s T20I squad for Pakistan series:
Mahmudullah (c), Tamim Iqbal Khan, Soumya Sarkar, Naim Sheikh, Najmul Hossain, Litton Das, MD Mithun, Afif Hossain, Mahadi Hasan, Aminul Islam Biplob, Mustafizur Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Al-Amin Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Hasan Mahmud.
