Dhaka: Mushfiqur Rahim has been named in Bangladesh’s 16-man squad for the one-off Test against Zimbabwe even as the selectors left out all of Mahmudullah, Soumya Sarkar, Rubel Hossain and Al-Amin Hossain for varying reasons.
Rahim’s last Test was the pink-ball match against India in Kolkata in November last year, after which he opted out of the tour of Pakistan; Bangladesh lost 2-0 in the three-match T20I series and suffered an innings defeat in the Rawalpindi Test.
The manner of the loss has triggered quite a few changes in the line-up for the Zimbabwe clash, with the senior figure of Mahmudullah bearing the brunt of it.
He scored 25 and 0 in Rawalpindi and has paid the price for his loss of form. Sarkar has been granted leave for his marriage, while Al-Amin has been rested and is expected to return for the limited-overs leg of the series.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz, the off-spinner, is back in the side after having recovered from an injury, while pacemen Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed have replaced Rubel and Al-Amin. The selectors also awarded the 23-year-old Yasir Ali and fast bowler Hasan Mahmud, 20, maiden Test call-ups, an ICC report on Sunday said.
“I believe we have selected the best possible Test squad under present circumstances,” said Minhajul Abedin, the chairman of BCB National Selection Panel.
“We felt that Mahmudullah needed a break from the red ball. Al-Amin has niggles and that’s why we thought he should be given the time to be fully ready for the limited overs matches where he is more important. Rubel is not part of our red-ball plans for the moment,” Abedin said.
Squad: Mominul Haque (c), Tamim Iqbal, Saif Hassan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun, Liton Das, Taijul Islam, Abu Jayed Chowdhury, Nayeem Hasan, Ebadat Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Yasir Ali. (UNI)
