Squad all but finalised
Seven players from Bangladesh's 23-member preliminary squad for the three ODIs against India have been selected to play three one-dayers and two T20 games against the West Indies High Performance Unit. The move effectively rules them out of the three-match India series which begins on June 13.
Forhad Reza, Soumya Sarker, Arafat Sunny, Sabbir Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Imrul Kayes and Naeem Islam are the players who will play in the Caribbean for the limited-overs contest.
If the national selectors actually intend to stick to their preliminary squad for the India series, then they have to make a squad from the 16 players remaining. In other words, the final squad of 15 is more or less decided.
Of the 16 the squad includes two uncapped players -- Taskin Ahmed and Mohammad Mithun -- both of whom have played one T20 International each. While Taskin put in an impressive performance against Australia in the World Twenty20, Mithun kept wickets against Sri Lanka in Chittagong in February.
While Mithun is expected to make the cut when the 15-member squad is submitted today, it is not likely that Taskin will follow suit.
With Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and Rubel Hossain having recovered from their injuries and Al-Amin Hossain's steady rise, Taskin will have three senior colleagues to battle against. While Mithun will have to contend with many more players in the middle-order, he is likely to be the first choice when it comes to replacing any of the seven batsmen in the team.
With three half-centuries in the last seven ODIs, Mominul Haque has done relatively well at number three, a position that the national team generally struggles with. His 369 runs in 12 games is already the fifth highest at number three batsman and his average of 31 leads the pack when it comes to players who have played more than ten games at the position.
The trio of Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan and Nasir Hossain will follow next occupying their traditional middle-order positions. As per the preliminary squad, Mahmudullah Riyad and Ziaur Rahman will be the only options for number seven.
The other question for the selectors will surround the openers. Tamim Iqbal, who missed the Asia Cup and the one-dayers against Sri Lanka this year has returned and with Anamul Haque in good form this year, Shamsur Rahman might have to make way for the left-hander.
Ever since the World Twenty20 the only 'game-time' that the players received was during a few longer-version domestic matches. Apart from the domestic tournaments, some players have individually played at different competitions. The likes of Nasir, Mominul and Shamsur will return home after playing two four-day games in the West Indies, while Shakib is fresh from his stint at the Indian Premier League.
The Indian team will arrive in Bangladesh on June 13. The three ODIs will take place on June 15, 17 and 19.
BANGLADESH A SQUAD
Naeem Islam (captain), Imrul Kayes, Marshall Ayub, Abdul Majid, Nurul Hasan, Muktar Ali, Robiul Islam, Taijul Islam, Forhad Reza, Soumya Sarker, Arafat Sunny, Sabbir Rahaman, Mosaddek Saikat, Shafiul Islam.
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