Four Bangladesh cricketers to feature in Asia XI for T20s against World XI

Come March and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will organise a two-match T20I series between Asia XI and World XI to commemorate the birth centenary of the country’s founding father ‘Bangabandhu’ Sheikh Mujibar Rahman. The two games will be played in Dhaka and get international status. In this series, four Bangladeshi cricketers will play for the Asia XI side.

If everything goes as per order, three top cricketers from Bangladesh — Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah Riyad — will be playing while the fourth cricketer is yet to be confirmed. According to a report in bdcrictime, the fourth member will be a bowler. Ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan will not be available for the games scheduled at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on March 19 and 21 since he is serving a ban.

BCB trying to rope in Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma

No Pakistani cricketer will take part in the series as a member of the Asia XI since the business end of the Pakistan Super League will be underway at the time. The Asia XI will comprise players from Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. The BCB is in touch with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to get Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for the series.

India will be just finishing off their three-match ODI series against South Africa then and the players will be preparing for the Indian Premier League. From India, there could be five players in all taking part in the T20I series.

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was born on March 17, 1920, in Tungipara and after successfully leading the country’s liberation war against West Pakistan, went on to become newly independent Bangladesh’s first President and second Prime Minister in the early 1970s. He was assassinated along with his family members in Dhaka on August 15, 1975. The current Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, is the daughter of Mujib who got saved because she was abroad at that time.

The Bangladesh government has planned to celebrate Mujib’s birth centenary in different ways and this year, the Bangladesh Premier League was also named as Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League.

Watch: Irfan Pathan’s interview post his retirement