Mominul Haque likely to be included in the Asia Cup squad if Shakib Al Hasan opts out

As the Asia Cup 2018 is scheduled to be played next month, teams have already started working on fine-tuning the combination, named a preliminary squad and announced training camps. Bangladesh are likely to miss the services of their most consistent performer Shakib Al Hasan. The all-rounder who is currently on a Hajj pilgrimage is expected to undergo a finger surgery when he returns.

However, one person’s loss is another’s gain. 26-year-old Mominul Haque has been out of favour from the ODI side ever since the 2015 World Cup. His recent performances on the A tour have been noticed by the selectors who named him in the 31-man preliminary squad for the Asia Cup. The chief selector of the Bangladesh cricket team stated that Mominul was likely to get a chance in case Shakib opts out of the tournament.

Mominul is in our plan for the next World Cup

On the Bangladesh ‘A’ team tour to Ireland, Mominul displayed stupendous batting form. The left-handed batsman slammed a total of 297 runs in just four innings. Moreover, it was his innings of 182 (133) that gained a lot of limelight. Chief selector Minhajul Abedin Nannu asserted that Mominul has always been a part of their plan for their World Cup 2019.

“If Shakib decides to skip the Asia Cup, yes, definitely Mominul has a chance. He is already in our plan for the next World Cup. So we may bring him to the squad any time during the upcoming series, if not in the Asia Cup. We have to see how Habibul Bashar feels about him. After that, we will decide about him” he was quoted as saying by bdcrictime.

The Dhaka-born cricketer has a splendid record in Tests averaging a sensational 43.40 with six hundreds. However, in the ODIs, his batting average is a poor 23.60 in 26 games. Thus if given a chance, Mominul will be looking forward to improve his limited-overs record. The multi team tournament will be a 14-day affair from the 15th of September to the 28th.

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