DHAKA: Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Tuesday announced a 15-member squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, scheduled to take place in the United States of America (USA) and the West Indies.
Najmul Hossain Shanto will lead the squad in the mega-event while Taskin Ahmed will serve as his deputy.
Ahmed is currently sidelined due to a side strain he suffered during the recent series against Zimbabwe and will not be taking part in the three-match T20I series against the USA leading up to the T20 World Cup.
However, it is expected that he will recover in time for the tournament.
The Bangladesh squad also features veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who is set to make his record-ninth appearance in the T20 World Cup.
He and India’s captain Rohit Sharma are the only two players to have participated in every T20 World Cup since the inaugural edition in 2007.
Meanwhile, pacer Mohammad Saifuddin was dropped and instead, young pacer Tanzim Hasan made the cut for the World Cup.
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Chief Selector Gazi Ashraf of Bangladesh clarified that both players were assessed during the Zimbabwe series. Saifuddin failed to impress selectors due to a lack of yorkers in the death overs.
“We wanted to observe and analyse Saifuddin’s performance in the Zimbabwe series. But when we considered what the team needs at the moment, Tanzim was ahead of Saifuddin. It was a close call between the two,” Ashraf said.
“We saw Tanzim against Sri Lanka. His dedication and hunger kept him ahead. He is also a good fielder. We didn’t see enough yorkers in the death overs from Saifuddin.”
Bangladesh are placed in Group D of the T20 World Cup 2024 alongside Sri Lanka, South Africa, Netherlands and Nepal.
They will kick start their campaign on June 7 against Sri Lanka in Dallas.
Bangladesh squad for T20 World Cup
Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Taskin Ahmed (vc), Litton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan, Shakib Al Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Jaker Ali, Tanvir Islam, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan
Traveling Reserves: Hasan Mahmud, Afif Hossain