Bangladesh name 14-man squad for Rawalpindi Test against Pakistan

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has announced a 14-man squad for the opening Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi, starting February 7. Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar have made their return to the Test squad after missing out on the series against India back in November. The left-handed Shadman Islam won’t be a part of the match due to his troublesome wrist injury.

The opener has been suffering from the injury while playing for the BCB XI in the Dr (Capt) K. Thimmappiah Memorial tournament in Bangalore. Though he played the Tests in India, the injury has come back to haunt him. Najmul Hossain Shanto, who scored his maiden T20 century in the BPL 2019-20 against Dhaka Platoon, has earned a recall in the longest format.

No Mustafizur Rahman in the Tigers squad

Tamim missed the India tour due to the birth of his child. Off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz has injured his finger and has been ruled out as well. Mustafizur Rahman didn’t find a place in the squad either. The left-arm pacer picked 20 wickets in the BPL, but flattered to deceive in the T20I series against Pakistan. Even in India, he was benched for the two-match Test series.

Rubel Hossain, the veteran fast bowler, has earned a recall to the Test side. The speedster has been in and out of the national side, but shone in the BPL, representing the Chattogram Challengers. The 21-year-old Saif Hassan has retained his place in the squad as well. The youngster was picked for the India Tests, but he was ruled out of the series due to a finger injury before the pink-ball Test.

Mominul Haque has again been trusted with the leadership mantle despite his failure in India, both as a skipper and batsman. The upcoming Test versus Pakistan is a part of the ICC World Test Championship where the Tigers are yet to open their account. Bangladesh have lost both their matches in the championship even as Pakistan have 80 points.

Here is Bangladesh’s squad

Mominul Haque Showrabh (C), Tamim Iqbal, Saif Hassan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mahmudullah, Mohammad Mithun, Liton Das, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Ebadot Hossain, Abu Jayed Chowdhury Rahi, Al-Amin Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Soumya Sarkar