A 14-member squad has been named by Bangladesh for the forthcoming home T20I series against Ireland, which begins on March 27.
Afif Hossain, a star batting all-arounder who has recently struggled with consistency, is noticeably absent from the lineup.
New additions to the national team include young leg spinner Rishad Hossain and uncapped wicketkeeper-batsman Jaker Ali.
Head selector Minhajul Abedin said on the two new additions to the team: “Jaker received the call-up on the back of his domestic performance.
He has done well for the A team as well.
“Since we’re playing against Ireland, we want to see a bit of Rishad. The management also wanted a leg-spinner.
That’s why we’ve picked him. I hope the newcomers will seize the opportunity,” he added.
Bangladesh enters the Ireland series on a high after a 3-0 home defeat of the Men’s T20 World Champions, England.
Check complete details on BAN vs IRE squad, and schedule.
BAN vs IRE squad: Who is included in the squad?
Shoriful Islam, a left-arm pacer who is 21 years old, rejoins the T20I lineup after being left off the squad for the most recent home series against England.
He last participated in a T20I match against India in November 2022, and due to injury, he was limited to just three appearances with Dhaka Dominators in the Bangladesh Premier League in 2023.
Tanvir Islam and Rejaur Rahman Raja are also absent from the most recent team in addition to Afif.
In the third T20I against England, Tanvir made his debut but was only given two overs before Phil Salt was dismissed for a duck.
Rejaur warmed the bench for the whole England series, hence it was reasonable for him to be left out of the Ireland series.
Rishad’s inclusion causes controversy because the young player hasn’t recently played much cricket.
In 14 T20 games, he has only claimed six wickets, and he didn’t play in any BPL 2023 matches.
In a first-class domestic competition in November 2022, he made his final competitive appearance for Rangpur Division in cricket.
The T20I series will begin on March 27. The second and third T20Is will be held on March 29 and 31, respectively.
All three contests will take place in Chattogram’s Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.
The current three-match ODI series between the two teams saw Bangladesh win the first game by 183 runs and the second game be called off due to rain.
Bangladesh T20I squad for Ireland series:
Shakib Al Hasan (c), Litton Das (wk), Rony Talukdar, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Rishad Hossain, Jaker Ali (wk).
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