Shakib Al Hasan returns for Bangladesh’s one-off Test versus Afghanistan

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has announced a 15-man squad for the one-off Test versus Afghanistan. The game will be played from September 5 at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram. Shakib Al Hasan, who was rested for the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, has made his comeback. The southpaw will be in charge of the national team for the fixture.

Shakib was a stalwart for the Tigers and the team missed him badly in Sri Lanka, losing the series 3-0. Taskin Ahmed also returns to the scheme of things in Test cricket after missing out the one in New Zealand due to an ankle injury. The speedster last played in the format way back in September 2017 but was impressive in the Dr. K Thimmappiah Memorial Tournament in Bengaluru.

Taskin replaces Mustafizur

He picked up seven wickets in the last two four-day games after bowling 73 overs. Taskin has replaced Mustafizur Rahman in the squad. There’s no Tamim Iqbal, who’s on a sabbatical in order to address his workload and form concerns. Tamim had a pretty rough outing as the skipper in Sri Lanka. Liton Das comes back into the mix after taking a break because of his wedding.

Mosaddek Hossain has impressed in the limited-overs formats, including the World Cup. The all-rounder last played a Test way back in January 2018 versus Sri Lanka. Fast bowler Ebadot Hossain earlier was a part of the series against New Zealand and he has made the cut as well. It was his show for Sylhet Sixers in the BPL that got him in the reckoning.

Apart from with Taskin and Ebadot, Abu Jayed Rahi was also selected. The spin-department is a rather strong one with the experience of Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taijul Islam in the ranks. Nayeem Hasan made an impressive debut last year and the eyes will be on the youngster to show some consistency.

In the absence of Tamim, the onus will be on left-hander Shadman Islam to deliver the goods. It goes without saying that the experienced heads in Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah need to step up. Mohammad Mithun, Soumya Sarkar and Mominul Haque are the other batters in the squad.

Here is the Bangladesh squad

Shakib al Hasan (C), Soumya Sarkar, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das, Mahmudullah, Mohammad Mithun, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Abu Jayed Rahi, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadat Hossain