Bangladesh’s Test squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan has been announced. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) named the squad on Saturday (September 19) afternoon.
Because Afghanistan are not part of the ICC Test Championship, this match does not count towards the championship either. Even so, the Tigers will take on the Afghans with a full-strength side.
The one-off Test between Afghanistan and Bangladesh begins on October 9 in the United Arab Emirates, and is Afghanistan’s home Test.
Nahid Rana will not play in this match; he returns to the field on October 10, which rules him out of this Test. The team management is essentially taking no risks in order to have him fit for the Test Championship matches. Nahid is, however, expected to play in the one-day series against Afghanistan.
Fellow pace bowler Taskin Ahmed has also been rested. Amit Hasan is not in the squad for this series, while Jaker Ali Anik has been brought back.
Six cricketers in the Asian Games squad are in the Test side. With that in mind, Naeem Hasan, Mushfik Hasan and Iqbal Hossain Emon will travel to the United Arab Emirates with the Test squad as travelling reserves.
The Bangladesh squad
Najmul Hossain Shanto (captain), Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Sadman Islam, Soumya Sarkar, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Kumar Das, Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali Anik, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Syed Khaled Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain Chowdhury and Shoriful Islam.