Mohammad Saifuddin earns a maiden T20I call-up against Sri Lanka

Mohammad Saifuddin earned his maiden call-up for the Bangladesh national squad and will be playing in the T20I series against Sri Lanka. Saifuddin, who was part of the Bangladesh U-19 team that made it to the semifinals in 2016, could feature in the playing XI when the Tigers take the field on April 4.

Saifuddin was also involved in the U-23 team in the Asian Cricket Council Emerging Teams Cup. The 20-year-old is the only addition to Bangladesh’s ODI squad.

Bangladesh made headlines as they won a historic test against Sri Lanka for the first time in their history of cricket. Having lost the second test, Bangladesh were up against a strong Lanka side in their 100th test match. The visitors won the third test by 4 wickets, clinching an epic victory in a landmark game.

After leveling the test series, Bangladesh maintained their momentum in the one-dayers, winning the first ODI against a depleted Sri Lankan side. The second was washed out, but the hosts came back strongly to win the third match and square the series 1-1.

This has clearly been one of the most successful tours for the boys from Bangladesh, and hence the selectors have thought it wise to not make any further changes to the squad. The only two players who will not feature in the shortest format of the game are Rubel Hossain and Shuvagata Hom.

Saifuddin has been called in to deliver his services as a right-arm pacer. The youngster is also capable of using the long handle to good effect and can add some valuable runs lower down the order.

The 20-year-old Saifuddin was impressive in both departments during the U-23 tournament and will look to make in impression in his maiden stint at the national level.

Bangladesh will go head to head against the Sri Lankans for 2 T20Is in Colombo. The series could well go on to decide who comes out victorious in what has been very equal clash.

Bangladesh T20I Squad: Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Sabbir Rahman, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Subashis Roy, Sanjamul Islam, Nurul Hasan, Mehedi Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin