The 15-member Bangladesh Cricket Board team did not include pace bowler Mustafizur Rahman and all-rounder Shakib al Hasan in their lineup for the opening three matches of the five-match Twenty20 International series against Zimbabwe, which is set to begin in Chattogram on May 3.
Shakib, an all-rounder who recently recovered from an eye issue, wanted to play in the Dhaka Premier League to get ready for international cricket, so BCB had previously announced that he would be out of commission for a few matches. Moreover, BCB did not include Mustafizur in their squad for the first three games. Mustafizur will return from the IPL after his final match against Punjab Kings on May 1.
Afif Hossain was added because Shakib wants to play in the DPL, according to BCB selection panel member Hannan Sarkar.
“Shakib is expected to come on April 30 and he desired to play two DPL games and we felt it can be good as in T20 format you don’t get time to get ready in the middle and he can have that time,” Hannan said on Sunday.
“Due to his extended playing career, Mustafizur is not included in the team. After participating in the BPL and Sri Lanka T20 series, he moved to the IPL. He requires both physical and mental recuperation because he has been playing for a long time. He requested recovery time during a portion of the series, so our chief selector spoke with him about it and we didn’t include him in the first three games of the series. He said, “We might include him in the second portion, which is the final two Twenty20 Internationals.
Tanvir Islam, Afif Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, and opener Parvez Hossain Emon returned to the team, along with uncapped opener Tanzid Hasan Tamim.
Those who participated in the previous T20I series against Sri Lanka at home in February, including opener Anamul Haque Bijoy, Mohammad Naim, Soumya Sarkar, Aliss Al Islam, and Taijul Islam, were unable to hold onto their spots in the team.
“Tanzid Tamim is yet to make debut but we think he is promising and have the ability to play T20 cricket and that is why we included him in the squad,” Hannan stated. “Parvez Emon played only one T20I so far and apart from that he played two matches in a different tournament (in Asian Games) and we want to see him,” he stated.
“Soumya is still injured and still could not become fully fit and so we could not keep him three-match squad and later we will take a decision on him after talking with the medical team,” he stated. “We feel Saifuddin is an all-rounder and we are planning to play him in Zimbabwe series and we hope he will execute his role in the middle.”
Squad: Shak Mahedi Hasan, Jaker Ali Anik, Mahmud Ullah, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Parvez Hossain Emon, Tanvir Islam, Afif Hossain, and Shaif Uddin. Captain: Najmul Hossain Shanto
