Two newcomers, six changes for T20I series

National selectors have made six changes from the Bangladesh squad that played in the ICC T20 World Cup and called two newcomers for the upcoming three-match Twenty20 international series against Pakistan, starting from Friday.

After the debacle in World Cup, where Bangladesh lost to Scotland in the preliminary round and later failed to win a single match in the Super 12 stage, the Bangladesh Cricket Board top brass had hinted at a change in the team. And that eas evident in chief selector Minhajul Abedin’s declaration of the team on Tuesday at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium
premise.

Liton Das and Soumya Sarkar were heavily criticised for their poor showing during the World Cup. Besides poor batting, Liton dropped two crucial catches against Sri Lanka, which cost the game.

Both have been axed from the national team, but the decision made by the selectors to replace them is also startling as they picked Test opener, Saif Hassan, for the T20 format. Saif has played five Tests for Bangladesh and has always been considered a cricketer best suited for the longer version. And now, he has been called up for a format quite the opposite of his style
of play.

Najmul Hossain Shanto, who was once the blue-eyed boy of the BCB, has also been called back to the T20 team since the New Zealand tour earlier this year. He made two centuries in the domestic T20 tournaments, but his inability to convert those performances in the international areas has been a headache for a long time.

Aminul Islam Biplob, a travelling reserve for Bangladesh in the World Cup, has been picked again. Since coming back from the World Cup after the preliminary round, Biplob has played three first-class matches for Dhaka Metro, scoring three half-centuries but picking only two wickets.

The selectors picked right-arm medium pacer Shohidul Islam, who picked nine wickets in the last match he played in the National Cricket League for Dhaka Metro. Shohidul has 55 wickets in 37 T20s, with an economy of 7.82 and a strike rate of 14.

Akbar Ali, captain of the U-19 World Cup-winning Bangladesh team, finally got his call-up to the national side. But his chances of making a debut is slim as Nurul Hasan is the first-choice wicket-keeper.

Yasir Ali Rabbi made a habit of getting a call in the national team, and staying in the dressing room but is yet to make his debut. He got picked once again.

Along with Yasir, some other cricketers were also training at the SBNCS for the past few days. Two of Akbar’s boys, Towhid Hridoy and Parvez Hossain Emon, was also with him and even gave interviews in the media expressing their plans for the upcoming Pakistan series. But both of them were left out.

Minhazul also said that they are giving rest to Mushfiqur Rahim as four Test matches are coming up.

“We have four Test matches coming up, and he is one of our best batsmen. As Tamim Iqbal has some injury issues and Shakib is yet to recover, we decided not to risk him in the T20 series. It’s not that he requested us not to consider him,” said the chief selector.

Nurul Hasan, who got injured in the World Cup, is returning behind the stumps, and Akbar will be playing second fiddle.

Despite so many chops and changes, Mahmudullah survives as the T20 skipper. Poor decision making, the uncontrolled outburst of emotions and finally failure to combine all the players into a team- he was a failed leader in all aspects.

He was asked by the reporters about his desire to quit after such a shambolic tour but Mahmudullah said that everything is up to the board and he stays despite several changes.