Bangladesh all-rounder Mosaddek Hossain returned to the Twenty20 setup as Bangladesh announced a 15-member squad on Sunday (May 20), for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan.
Imrul Kayes, Nurul Hasan and Taskin Ahmed were part of the squad that played in the Nidahas Trophy but failed to make the cut this time around with Taskin still recovering from an injury. However, Abu Jayed and Ariful Haque were retained despite not getting a game in the tri-nation series in Colombo.
Despite average performances, Soumya Sarkar along with Abu Hider and Mehidy Hasan managed to sneak into the squad while the inclusion of Mosaddek was nothing short of surprise.
There was news doing the rounds that the selection panel will look to experiment in the series by handing opportunities to the likes of Mohammad Mithun, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Afif Hossain and Zakir Hasan. Eventually, the selectors stuck to their best possible squad for the upcoming series.
“We want to send the best possible side because we are expecting it to be highly contested as they are very competitive side in the shortest format,” said chief selector Minhajul Abedin. “As a result we were not keen to make lot of changes,” he added.
Minhajul added that the inclusion of Mosaddek cannot be termed as surprise as he was always on the radar for his ability with both bat and ball. “Mosaddek missed out recently due to a problem with his eye but as he is fit now and playing well recently, we believe he is one of our future prospect and we still have that faith in him.”
Bangladesh will travel to Dehradun on May 29 for the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan. The three games will be played on June 3, 5 and 7 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehradun.
Bangladesh squad for three-match T20I series vs Afghanistan: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mahmudullah (vc), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Sabbir Rahman, Mosaddek Hossain, Ariful Haque, Mehidy Miraz, Nazmul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Hider Rony, Rubel Hossain, Abu Jayed
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