Tamim Iqbal Returns To Bangladesh Squad For First Two ODIs Vs New Zealand, Shakib Al Hasan Rested As Litton Das Named Captain

Tamim Iqbal did not play Asia Cup 2023 as he was injured. Litton Das will lead the Bangladesh in the series vs New Zealand as Shakib Al Hasan has been rested.

Tamim Iqbal. (Source: Twitter)

Bangladesh recalled Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah Riyad, Soumya Sarkar, and Quazi Nurul Hasan Sohan for the first two of the three upcoming ODIs against New Zealand in Dhaka next week. "The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has announced the squad for the first and second ODIs of this month’s three-match series against New Zealand in Dhaka," BCB said in a statement. 

Wary of managing the workloads of several key players ahead of the ICC ODI World Cup, which will get underway in India next month, Bangladesh have decided them in the first two ODIs against New Zealand.

Swashbuckling keeper-batsman Litton Das will lead the side in the absence of regular captain Shakib Al Hasan, who has been rested. Among the other key players rested are Mushfiqur Rahim, all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz and the pace battery of Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud and Shoriful Islam.

Despite several key names missing, Bangladesh will not go into the series short on experience as the likes of Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Soumya Sarkar and Nurul Hasan Sohan will mark their return to the limited-overs setup.

The Tigers have called up three uncapped players — southpaw Zakir Hasan, pacer Khaled Ahmed and leg-spinner Rishad Hossain. They could all be in line for debuts during the ODI series.

Naim Sheikh, Afif Hossain and Shamim Hossain were players from the Asia Cup squad to have missed out.

“The decision to rest players was taken in consideration of the World Cup in India which will be a long tournament where ensuring the mental and physical fitness of the cricketers will be very important. The series against New Zealand provides us an opportunity to take a look at some other players as well ahead of this major event," the chairman of Bangladesh's National Selection Panel, Minhajul Abedin, said in a statement. 

“The squad is a blend of experience and youth and only Zakir, Khaled and Rishad have not featured in ODIs yet. Zakir was very close to playing against Ireland in March before he suffered an unfortunate injury. Khaled has done well in his list A career and Rishad offers a different dimension to our bowling attack," he added.

Squad (for the first two ODIs): Litton Das (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Anamul Haque, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmud Ullah, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan, Tanzid Hasan, Zakir Hasan, Rishad Hossain and Khaled Ahmed.