Mushfiq, Liton return, Mithun dropped

Bangladesh Cricket Board has announced a 19-member team for the upcoming five-match twenty20 international series against New Zealand, starting from September 1 at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

Mushfiqur Rahim and Liton Kumar Das returned to the team, who missed out against Australia due to the bio-security agreement between the BCB and Cricket Australia that demanded ten days of isolation before the start of the series.

But Mushfiq and Liton had to return early from the Zimbabwe tour due to a family emergency which barred them from taking part in the five-match T20 series against Australia that Bangladesh won 4-1.

During the series against Australia, the BCB could only keep a 17-member team as the selectors had to choose only those who returned from Zimbabwe as the players went straight to the bio-secure hotel from the airport. This time around, the selectors slightly extended the squad size.

Mohammad Mithun is the only omission from that team, who played his last T20I against New Zealand in March, as he did not feature in any of the matches against Australia or Zimbabwe.

This is the last scheduled series for Bangladesh before the T20 World Cup in Oman, and the team management must be looking for their final 15 members besides a fair result against a second-string Blackcaps side.

With the inclusion of Aminul Islam, Bangladesh added a leg-spinner in their arsenal that made the bowling department full of variety as Shakib Al Hasan, Nasum Ahmed and Taijul Islam are the left-arm orthodox spinners and Shak Mahedi Hasan, Mahmudullah and Mosaddek Hossain are off-spinners.

In the pace bowling department, Mustafizur Rahman’s presence bolsters Bangladesh as he was an unsolved puzzled for the Aussies. Young gun Shoriful Islam is also learning the art of cutter from him, and the combination of two left-armers could create double trouble for the Blackcaps.

The return of Liton gives the team management an alternative option for Soumya Sarkar in the opening slot as the left-handed opener struggled against Australia.

The most valuable inclusion is undoubtedly the return of Mushfiqur Rahim, who can give the batting order stability. But at the same time, it also put the team into sweet trouble with the gloves as Nurul Hasan was very impressive behind the stumps in the last series.