On Sunday, September 29, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced the t5-player squad for the three-match T20I series against India after the conclusion of the ongoing two-match Test series. In the absence of veteran Shakib Al Hasan, who has retired from the T20I format, the Bangladesh selectors have picked Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the squad as a potential like-for-like replacement with his quality, experience, and all-round skills in all formats.
Notably, the first T20I of the upcoming three-match series between India and Bangladesh will be played at the Shrimant Madhavrao Scindia International Cricket Stadium in Gwalior on October 6. The second and third T20I matches of the series will be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on October 9 and Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on October 12 respectively.
Someone who can bat in Shakib Al Hasan’s place is Mehidy Hasan Miraz: Bangladesh Chief Selector
Apart from Mehidy Hasan Miraz earning his first call up to the Bangladesh T20I team in 14 months, the national selectors have also brought in opening batter Parvez Hossain Emon and spinner Rakibul Hasan in their squad against India. The chief selector of Bangladesh cricket team, Gazi Ashraf Hossain, said, as per Cricbuzz, “There are certain reasons why we brought these changes. We want to try Parvez Hossain Emon and before the World Cup we kept him in the training sessions and observed him and in the Tigers camp he trained well and so we felt that we want to include him.
He also addressed the involvement of Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the squad in their attempt to replace Shakib Al Hasan, and remarked, “In the middle order the great Shakib Al Hasan announced that he had already played his last T20 match and the experience that he had we don’t have anyone close to that but what we feel is that someone who can bat in his place is Mehidy Miraz. We feel that he can contribute the most with his batting and he is good with off-spin and we consider his batting and bowling with a lot of importance in Test matches and ODIs.”
“Tanvir was with our team but he had broken his hand and that is the reason we picked Rakibul keeping the future in mind,” Gazi Ashraf Hossain further added.
Below is Bangladesh’s squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against India:
Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Parvez Hossain Emon, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Litton Kumer Das, Jaker Ali Anik, Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Rakibul Hasan