Hridoy to lead again in Zimbabwe series, Mosaddek and Yasir return to T20

Bangladesh captain Liton Kumar Das will miss the upcoming T20 series against Zimbabwe as he has received permission to play the full Sri Lanka Premier League (LPL). As a result, Towhid Hridoy will once again lead the side in his absence.

Liton was also unavailable for the recent T20 series against Australia due to injury. Taskin Ahmed has also been ruled out of the Zimbabwe tour as he too is set to play in the LPL from the start.

Shamim Hossain and Soumya Sarkar have been dropped from the squad.

All-rounder Mosaddek Hossain has earned a recall to the T20 side after returning to the ODI team. This will be his first T20 appearance since the 2022 T20 World Cup. Yasir Ali Chowdhury has also been brought back to the squad after the same tournament.

The returns of both players are somewhat surprising. In the recently concluded BPL, Yasir scored only 51 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 98.07. However, he had a strong previous BPL season, scoring 336 runs at a strike rate of 153.42. In the latest National Cricket League T20, he showed good form with 197 runs at an average of 65.66 and a strike rate of 139.71.

Mosaddek also performed well in the National T20 League, scoring 176 runs at an average of 58.66 and a strike rate of 160, while taking 6 wickets at an economy of 7.35. His BPL record, however, has been poor. He did not play in the last edition due to a disciplinary issue, and in the previous one he scored just 36 runs in five innings while picking up 8 wickets at an economy of 8.30.

Chief selector Habibul Bashar said Mosaddek got the opportunity mainly because of Shamim Hossain’s poor form. Yasir has been recalled for his ability to play big shots in the middle order.

Shamim’s exclusion is hard to argue against. In the recent Australia series, he scored 1, 7 and 0. In the preceding New Zealand series, he made 31 off 20 balls in one match but only 3 in the next. In the three T20Is before that, he scored 1, 1 and 0.

Soumya Sarkar failed to make the most of the opportunities he got in Liton’s absence during the Australia series, scoring 15 and 17 in two matches.

Mohammad Saifuddin has also returned to the squad. The pace-bowling all-rounder was not in the last series but had played against New Zealand earlier.

The three-match T20 series against Zimbabwe will be held in Bulawayo on July 15, 17 and 19. Liton and Taskin, along with other players selected for the LPL, will join the Sri Lankan franchise league after completing the Zimbabwe tour. The LPL is scheduled to begin on July 17.

Bangladesh T20 squad:
Towhid Hridoy (captain), Parvez Hossain Emon, Tanzid Hasan, Saif Hassan, Mosaddek Hossain, Yasir Ali Chowdhury, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Shakib Al Hasan (aSheikh Mahedi Hasan), Nasum Ahmed, Rishad Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Nahid Rana, Abdul Gaffar Saklain and Mohammad Saifuddin.