India vs Bangladesh: BCB announces 15-man T20I squad for the series

The Bangladesh Cricket Team is all set to tour their Asian big brothers- India–  for a three-match T20I series followed by two Test matches Indore and Eden Gardens, Kolkata, in November. To be considered eligible for selection, the Bangladesh Cricket Board had made it mandatory for all the players to play the domestic First-Class competition: National Cricket League (NCL), and considering that criteria, the national selectors have announced a 15-member squad for the 3-match T20I series in India.

In a team led by Shakib Al Hasan, left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny, who claimed seven wickets in 2 NCL games including a five-wicket haul and seamer Al-Amin Hossain (4 wickets in two matches in NCL 2019) have earned a recall to the national side while Sabbir Rahman, Taijul Islam, Rubel Hossain, and Najmul Hossain Shanto, who were all part of the T20I tri-series involving Afghanistan, Zimbabwe as the other two sides have been dropped.

Explaining the reasons for including Arafat and Al Amin, both of whom had fallen out of favor in recent times, chief selector alluded to the duo’s consistency and the latter’s ability as a fast bowler to make use of the conditions on offer in India for their selection.

“We have picked Arafat as he is bowling quite consistently in the domestic arena. We already have Shakib [Al Hassan] but we need someone who has the experience of playing the shorter format,” BCB chief selector Minhajul Abedin said as quoted by Cricbuzz after releasing the squad

Soumya Sarkar and Tamim Iqbal make their return to the Bangladesh T20I set-up

Opener Soumya Sarkar, who was dropped mid-way through the T20I tri-series has been recalled. However, the chief selector made it pretty clear about his reservations in selecting Soumya besides also insisting that the opener was primarily selected on the insistence of the coach.

But the major surprise has come with the inclusion of Tamim Iqbal. Tamim, who took a break from cricket following a lean World Cup campaign and the subsequent three-match One-day series in Sri Lanka, returned to competitive cricket during the first round of the NCL where he scored 30 and 46 in the two innings against Dhaka.

But after the first game, Tamim proceeded to suffer a muscle strain on the right side of the rib. The injury had forced him to miss the second round of the National Cricket League where his side Chattogram Divison is squaring off against Barishal Division at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium. Following his injury, reports had emerged that the physician had advised Iqbal of seven-days rest after which he would be further assessed if he is fit enough to play cricket.

“His rib sustained a slight injury day before yesterday. As he was not feeling pain, he batted in the nets yesterday but again the pain resurfaced and we had a scan yesterday and we got the report today that suggested that he should take rest for the next seven days,” BCB chief physician Debashish Chowdhury had told reporters as quoted by Cricket Frenzy.

Tamim’s inclusion indicates that the injury was not as bad as it was made out to be, and he will, in fact, be making his comeback to international cricket.

Bangladesh squad for 3 T20Is vs India:

Shakib Al Hasan (c), Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Naim, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Aminul Islam, Arafat Sunny, Mohammad Saifuddin, Al-Amin Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shafiul Islam

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