Bangladesh recall Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam to T20I squad
Rubel Hossain and Shafiul Islam, the two experienced fast bowlers, have been recalled as part of the revamp. Meanwhile, they've dropped the axe on Soumya Sarkar, who hasn't had a great run of form recently.
They've also left out off-spinner Mahedi Hasan as well as fast bowlers Abu Hider and Yeasin Arafat, who were yet to feature in any of Bangladesh's two games so far.
Youngsters Najmul Hossain, Aminul Islam and Mohammad Naim, none of whom are more than 21 years old, have been drafted in as part of the shake up.
Afghanistan win by 25 runs!
— ICC (@ICC) September 15, 2019
They have now won 12 consecutive T20Is, beating their own record in men's cricket! đź‘Ź đź‘Ź
Four wickets for Mujeeb and an unbeaten 84 from Mohammad Nabi proved too much for Bangladesh.#BANvAFG pic.twitter.com/9X04fdVWuQ
Left-handed batsman Najmul has represented Bangladesh in a handful of games, but none in the shortest format. Leg-spinning all-rounder Aminul and opening batsman Naim are yet to wear Bangladesh colours across formats.
Rubel, 29, has played 27 T20Is for Bangladesh, the last of which came in August 2018. The 29-year-old has been a touch expensive in the shortest format, and has a chance to make amends. Shafiul, also 29, last played a T20I in late 2017.
After three matches, Bangladesh are second in the points table, sandwiched between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe. Their top order had endured a failure against Zimbabwe as well, but a belligerent half-century from Atif Hossain saved them the blushes in that game. The next game is on Wednesday, 18 September, against Zimbabwe.
Squad: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman, Mosaddek Hossain, Liton Das, Afif Hossain, Taijul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mohammad Naim Shaikh, Aminul Islam, Najmul Hossain