Bangladesh announce 21-man squad for Sri Lanka Tests

Bangladesh cricket team will be up against Sri Lanka in the two-match Test series starting from April 21, Wednesday at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Pallekele. Though the Test series forms a part of the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship, it holds no significance as India and New Zealand have already qualified for the finals of the tournament scheduled in England from June 18 to 22.

Ahead of the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced a 21-member squad that will be traveling to the island nation. The team will be lead by Mominul Haque and they will be hoping to at least open their account in the World Test Championship points table. Till now Bangladesh has featured in five Test matches as a part of WTC but had to face defeat in all the games.

The Bangladesh side had an opportunity to beat a depleted West Indies lineup at home but the Mominul Haque-led outfit lost both Tests. Thus, the team will be looking forward to performing well in the upcoming Test series against the Sri Lanka team.

Shakib Al Hasan and  Mustafizur Rahman not selected for the Sri Lanka tour

One of the main highlights of the Bangladesh Test squad is the omission of star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman. Shakib and Mustafizur are the only two Bangladeshi players to feature in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) that will run from April 9 to May 30 with the opening game between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

It was learned that both the players made themselves available for the Test series against Sri Lanka and were ready to give the IPL 2021 a miss.  However, the selection committee did not consider them for the Sri Lanka tour. Shakib will be piling his trade for Kolkata Knight Riders while Rahman has been selected by Rajatshan Royals (RR).

Bangladesh’s preliminary squad for the Sri Lanka series: Mominul Haque, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun, Tamim Iqbal, Shadman Islam, Abu Jayed, Taijul Islam, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nayeem Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain, Saif Hassan, Yasir Ali, Shoriful Islam, Syed Khaled Ahmed, Mukidal Islam Mugdho, Shuvagata Hom, Shohidul Islam, and Qazi Nurul Hasan Sohan.