Ace Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is set to be soon seen in action in whites as Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced squads for the multi-format tour of Zimbabwe on Wednesday (June 23).
Earlier, Shakib skipped the Test series against Sri Lanka to play the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) but now he has returned to Bangladesh’s Test squad for the one-off Test against Zimbabwe starting on July 7.
Bangladesh will also play three ODIs and as many as T20Is on the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe beginning from July 7 with all the matches set to be played in Harare.
The wicketkeeper-batsman Nurul Hasan has also made a comeback across formats for the tour, while Nayeem Hassan also returned to the Test side along with Shakib. The BCB has allowed Mushfiqur Rahim to skip the T20I series after he asked for the same.
The injured trio Tamim Iqbal, Taskin Ahmed, and Mushfiqur Rahim – who are out of action in the ongoing Dhaka Premier League due to the injuries, are expected to be fit before the Zimbabwe tour. Rubel Hossain and Taijul Islam are also recalled to the Bangladesh squad for the upcoming ODI series.
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BCB chief selector Minhajul Abedin stated: “Getting the best player (Shakib) in three formats is always a plus point and we are hopeful that the team will be morally boosted up by his presence. We are hoping to have a good performance from him.”
On Nurul's inclusion to the Test squad, Abedin said: “If you consider the present performance he deserves to make a comeback in three formats. When we took him with us in Sri Lanka team management was very happy with him with his skill set.”
Uncapped Shamim Patowary was given maiden call-up for the T20I series and the chief selector hopes he will do a good job for the Tigers in Zimbabwe.
He signed off by saying, “After completing the Under-19 stint he was included in the High Performance squad and we are monitoring Shamim Patwary since then. He played well against Ireland A while he was consistent in the shorter version of cricket and we are hopeful that he will do well in a shorter version.”
Ahead of the tour opening one-off Test on July 7, Bangladesh will play a two-day practice game on July 3 and 4 in Harare as well as another warm-up fixture on July 14 before the ODI series scheduled on July 16, 18, and 20 in Harare followed by the three T20Is on July 23, 25 and 27 at the same venue.
Bangladesh T20I squad: Mahmudullah (c), Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Afif Hossain, Soumya Sarkar, Naim Sheikh, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mustafizur Rahman, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Shamim Hossain, Aminul Islam, Shakib Al Hasan and Nurul Hasan
Bangladesh ODI squad: Tamim Iqbal (c), Mohammad Naim, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah, Nurul Hasan, Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Mosaddek Hossain, Taijul Islam, Shoriful Islam and Rubel Hossain.
Bangladesh Test squad: Mominul Haque (c), Tamim Iqbal, Shadman Islam, Saif Hassan, Najmul Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Liton Das, Yasir Ali, Nurul Hasan, Mehidy Hasan, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Abu Jayed, Ebadot Hossain, Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam.
(With Cricbuzz Inputs)
