Bangladesh have named their 17-man squad for the 2023 Asia Cup which includes uncapped duo of Tanzid Hasan and Shamim Hossain. The squad will be led by Shakib Al Hasan who was named their ODI captain earlier this week.
While Shamim has represented Bangladesh in 17 T20Is so far and was added to their squad for the 2nd ODI of a three-match series against England earlier this year in March as an injury cover.
Tanzid is yet to play at the international level. However, he left an impression with his three half-centuries in the ACC Emerging Nations Cup while Shamim did enough during a couple of T20Is against Afghanistan in July to merit the call up.
Bangladesh though have ignored senior batsman Mahmdullah who hasn’t played an ODI since March this year.
“We held long discussions about Mahmudullah in the early stages,” Bangladesh chief selector Minhajul Abedin said on Saturday. “We have put him off after considering oppositions and conditions. I think it was a good decision by the team management. We have spoken about it with the coach and captain.”
The 22-year-old Tanzid has scored 1271 runs in 46 List A matches at 28.88 including three hundreds and seven half-centuries.
“We are quite confident about Tanzid Hasan,” Abedin said. “He has been nursed for a long time in the High Performance programme. He did well in the Emerging Cup. I am hopeful that he can deliver something for the team.”
Besides Shamim, the duo of Mahedi Hasan and Nasum Ahmed has also been recalled for the continental tournament starting August 30.
“Shamim has been with us since his Under-19 days. He went through a decline after being picked in the T20 World Cup in 2021. He has overcome lately. He has done well in T20Is lately. He is a capable cricketer, which has given us the confidence to pick him,” Abedin said.
“Mahedi was injured during the BPL. He was out for a long time. He was in our T20I squad. He made a reasonable performance in the Emerging Cup. He can show something in the Asia Cup,” he added.
Bangladesh have kept faith in another youngster Mohammad Naim who was also part of the Afghanistan ODI series.
“Naim did well in domestic cricket. He didn’t do that well in the Emerging Cup. But he is in a stable situation. He has a bit of international experience too. That’s why he has been given another chance,” Abedin said.
Full squad: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Litton Das, Tanzid Tamim, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Sheikh Mahedi, Nasum Ahmed, Shamim Hossain, Afif Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Ebadot Hossain, Mohammad Naim
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