Bangladesh announce squad for Zimbabwe tour, Mahmudullah rested

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) have decided to rest regular T20I skipper Mahmudullah for the upcoming Zimbabwe tour. The wicketkeeper-batter Nurul Hasan replaces him for the three-match T20I series starting on July 30 in Harare. The star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is also rested for the series. Mahmudullah has captained Bangladesh in 43 T20I matches, winning 16 and losing 26 in the process.

The 36-year-old all-rounder took leadership duties in 2019 but has struggled with both performance and results. He was part of the recently concluded white-ball series against West Indies. BCB reportedly met the player on Friday before announcing both the squads for T20I and ODI series against Zimbabwe. On July 21, Bangladesh team director Khaled Mahmud revealed that the board is not happy with Mahmudullah’s leadership duties. Today after the squad announcement,  he stated that the T20 squad needs a fresh start ahead of the upcoming 2022 T20 World Cup in October-November.

”We have decided that Nurul Hasan will lead the side in the upcoming T20Is. It is not that Sohan will lead the team in the World Cup. ‘We felt the T20 squad should make a new start as they are not performing well and we want the new guys to express them,” Bangladesh team director Khaled Mahmud said after the squad announcement as quoted by Cricbuzz.

Shakib Al Hasan to replace Mahmudullah?

Shakib Al Hasan is also rested for both T20I and ODI series against Zimbabwe. According to a report from ESPNcricinfo, BCB are looking to appoint the star all-rounder as a regular captain for the T20I team once he rejoins the squad. Shakib isn’t enjoying a smooth relationship with BCB after the player decided to skip the South Africa series as a part of workload management. But due to a lack of other options, the Bangladesh management is looking to hand over captaincy duties to their best player.