Bangladesh have announced an initial 31-man roster ahead of the tournament in the United Arab Emirates.
Shakib Al Hasan could miss Asia Cup for surgery on finger
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hasan..
23-year old Liton Das has regained his opening berth at the top of the order having not been picked since October 2017; the left-hander’s destructive and series-clinching 32-ball 61 in the deciding match of the recent T20I series against the West Indies perhaps the catalyst for his inclusion.
All-rounder Soumya Sarkar has also been recalled to the squad after a 10-month hiatus from the ODI side, his previous exploits include a colossal unbeaten 127 against Pakistan in 2015 that guided his side to a famous eight-wicket victory. Mominul Haque is also recalled after an absence of over three years following a blistering 182 from 133 against Ireland A less than a week prior to the squad announcement.
Read: Liton Das sets up series-clinching victory for Bangladesh
Veteran Mohammad Ashraful has not been selected, the 34-year old returned from his five-year ban for match-fixing on 13 August.
The 12 debutants to have been selected in the 31-strong preliminary Fazle Mahmud Rabbi, Zakir Hasan, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Syed Khaled Ahmed, Nayeem Hasan, Shoriful Islam, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Abu Jayed, Ariful Haque, Nazmul Islam, Abu Hider Rony and Shaif Uddin.
Read More: Asia Cup 2018 – Schedule released
The 2018 Asia Cup will be played between 16 and 26 September. Bangladesh are pooled with Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, while India and Pakistan will share a group with a the winner of the Asia Cup Qualifier- Oman, Malaysia, UAE, Singapore, Hong Kong and Nepal will fight it out for the final spot.
The winners and runners-up of both groups will go into a Super Four, where the top two will go up against each other in the final in Dubai.
31-man squad
Masrafe Bin Mortaza
Shakib Al Hasan
Tamim Iqbal Khan
Imrul Kayes
Anamul Haque Bijoy
Mushfiqur Rahim
Mahmud Ullah
Soumya Sarkar
Shabbir Rahaman Roman
Shaif Uddin
Mustazifur Rahman
Musaddek Hossain Saikat
Liton Kumer Das
Abu Hider Rony
Nazmul Islam Apup
Mehidy Hasan Miraz
Mominul Haque Showrab
Quazi Nurul Hasan Sohan
Rubel Hossain
Ariful Haque
Aby Jayed Chowdhury Rahi
Najmul Hossain Shanto
Shoriful Islam
Taijul Islam
Nayeem Hasan
Kamrul Islam Rabbi
Syed Khaled Ahmed
Md. Zakir Hasan
Sunzamal Islam
Md. Mithun
Fazle Rabbi Mahmud
