Bangladesh selected 15 member squad for Champions Trophy

The all-important ICC Champions Trophy will span across 17 days, played by 8 best cricket teams in the world, at 3 different venues, beginning on June 1 in England. The tournament is back after 4 years, with India being the title defenders after winning the prestigious trophy in 2013 under the leadership of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

All the teams are now on eyeing their best players to play in the 50-overs tournament. The Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB’s) selection panel asked for a 15-member squad yesterday to the board for the Champions Trophy. The names of the 15 players are yet to be known, but it was hinted that not many newcomers will travel to England. And this same 15 member squad will also travel to Ireland for the tri-series between New Zealand, Ireland and Bangladesh.

The Daily Star quoted BCB Chief selector Minhajul Abedin as saying, “The deadline to send the squad for the Champions Trophy is April 25. That’s why we decided to make the team for both the tri-nation series in Ireland and the Champions Trophy. The team has done well and so there won’t be any surprise in the team.”

Until the president of the BCB approves, the names of players cannot be revealed. Initially, the selectors wanted good backup strength for the team, thus planning to include more than 15 players since Bangladesh have been following that policy in their last couple of tours. However, since the country’s domestic league, the Dhaka Premier League is on, the selectors chose 15 only

“Instead of just tagging along with the team, they will benefit a lot more by playing in the league. That’s why we decided to choose just 15 players,” said Minhajul.

Also, another decision taken in the meeting was giving new pay contracts to the players, but it was also revealed that the new pay will not be in accordance to the hike that was demanded by the players.