Veteran batter Mahmudullah, who wasn’t picked for the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, has been named in Bangladesh’s squad for the upcoming 2024 T20 World Cup in USA/West Indies. The 15-member squad will be led by Najmul Hossain Shanto with Taskin Ahmed serving as his deputy. There has been an injury cloud over the latter, forcing Hasan Mahmud to fly in as the replacement for the upcoming T20Is against USA before the World Cup. However, the selectors are confident that Taskin shall recover in time for the showpiece event, thereby giving him the additional responsibility of being the vice-captain. Hasan Mahmud and Afif Hossain have been named as the reserves.
Mahmudullah’s return is arguably the talking point of the squad. The 38-year-old wasn’t part of the T20I side since September 2022 and made a comeback earlier this year in the home series against Sri Lanka in March. Consequently, Mahmudullah was a regular in the side for the T20Is against Zimbabwe, making him a front-runner for making the final cut. However, there was a sense of uncertainty regarding his selection, given the unpredictable nature of Bangladesh’s selection committee with respect to senior players.
Squad Analysis
Mustafizur Rahman headlines the pace attack that also has Shoriful Islam and Taskin in the mix. Bowling all-rounder Tanzim Sakib is the fourth seamer in the squad that has three specialist spin bowling options in the form of Mahedi Hasan, Tanvir Islam and Rishad Hossain, apart from the experience of Shakib Al Hasan.
Squad:
- Najmul Hossain Shanto(c)
- Tanzim Hasan Tamim
- Litton Das
- Shakib Al Hasan
- Towhid Hridoy
- Mahmudullah
- Soumya Sarkar
- Jaker Ali
- Mahedi Hasan
- Taskin Ahmed
- Tanvir Islam
- Rishad Hossain
- Mustafizur Rahman
- Shoriful Islam
- Tanzid Hasan Sakib
Reserves:
- Hasan Mahmud
- Afif Hossain
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