Former captain Najmul Hossain Shanto was left out as Bangladesh Cricket Board announced a 16-member squad for the team鈥檚 three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka on Friday.
Opener Mohammad Naim was finally rewarded with a spot for his domestic form while all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin and spinner Nasum Ahmed also made the cut.
Shanto last played in the format in the second match against the UAE in May. The southpaw was in the squad for the Pakistan series but didn鈥檛 feature in any match.
Naim, another left-handed batter, has recently been included in the ODI squad of the ongoing series, though he didn鈥檛 play in the first match. His last T20I match was in August 2022.
On the other hand, Saifuddin last played in the format in May 2024, which was also the 28-year-old鈥檚 last appearance in any international game for Bangladesh.
Apart from Shanto, Soumya Sarkar, Tanvir Islam and Hasan Mahmud, Khaled Ahmed were also snubbed from the squad.
Soumya wasn鈥檛 included in the ODI series, as the selectors said that they wanted to give him more time to recover from injury.
Nasum, who last played in July 2023, got the nod ahead of left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam.
Pacers Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam also returned to the squad after recovering from injuries.聽 Taskin and Mustafiz are already playing in the ODI series against the Lankans.
Nahid Rana, who opted out of the Pakistan series due to personal reasons, wasn鈥檛 included.
The T20I series will commence on July 10 in Kandy, while the second and third matches are scheduled for July 13 and 15 in Dambulla and Colombo, respectively.
Squad
Liton Das (Captain), Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain, Mohammad Naim Sheikh, Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali, Shamim Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rishad Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin.
