Bangladesh are going into the upcoming T20 World Cup with quite a few young guns in the squad, led by a young skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto. But it is two of their veterans -- Mahmudullah Riyad and Shakib Al Hasan -- who could give the side a lift with their experience in the USA and the West Indies.
Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto hoped that the younger players perform well to honour two veterans – Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah Riyad, in the upcoming T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies.
“This many people usually don’t turn up to see a fitness test at six in the morning. I’m sure they are here because it’s happening at the Bangabandhu [National] Stadium,” said Shahriar Nafees, the current cricket operations manager, after the national team’s fitness test at the famed venue yesterday.
The tale of cricketers who had functioned as finishers in Bangladesh T20 cricket history is a short and painful one. To perceive the difficulty of Jaker Ali Anik’s task, one would have to look no further than Mahmudullah Riyad.
Jaker Ali Anik produced one of the finest knocks for Bangladesh in T20Is, but in the end there was a hint of regret as the Tigers fell short by three runs in the first T20I against Sri Lanka in Sylhet yesterday.
Fortune Barishal’s Mushfiqur Rahim on Wednesday quipped about his side being labelled as the ‘team of elderlies’ after the Tamim Iqbal-led side, also including veteran Mahmudullah Riyad, cemented their spot in the final of the 10th edition of the Bangladesh Premier League.
Bangladesh stalwart Mushfiqur Rahim was excited to have reached the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) final with Fortune Barishal, a side that had been given the tag of the 'team of elderlies' prior to the tournament.
Fortune Barishal batters Soumya Sarker and Mahmudullah Riyad hit fifties to help set up an easy win over bottom-placed Durdanto Dhaka in a Bangladesh Premier League fixture in Mirpur on Saturday.
Durdanto Dhaka head coach and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) director Khaled Mahmud Sujon said that Mahmudullah Riyad’s retirement from Tests still ‘hurts’ him.
Bangladesh batter Mahmudullah Riyad scored a 39-ball 26 in a practice match between Bangladesh Tigers and a team comprising of players from the Asian Games squad at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on Thursday.
Bashar considers Tamim's experience invaluable for the Tigers.
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) director Khaled Mahmud Sujon said that the selection panel leaving veteran Mahmudullah Riyad out of the Asia Cup squad came strictly out of their planning.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chief selector Minhajul Abedin Nannu said that the decision to leave out experienced campaigner Mahmudullah Riyad from the Asia Cup was done after discussing the matter at length with the team management, skipper Shakib Al Hasan and head coach Chandika Hathurusingha.
Experienced Mahmudullah Riyad did not make the cut while Tanzid Hossain Tamim got his first national team call-up as the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced a 17-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup later this month.
With Shakib Al Hasan named as the ODI captain yesterday, there was no obstruction left to announce the Bangladesh squad for the Asia Cup.
It will be interesting to see whether the criteria of the team-selection would eventually boil down to personal preferences, team combination or the need of experience. The selectors are thus in for an anxious ride in prioritising their agendas
Hours before coming to the BCB Academy Ground in Mirpur yesterday to partake in an individual practice session, Mahmudullah Riyad had posted a story on his social media accounts. It was his first session since returning from Hajj, a session which garnered the attention of the media as well.
While the national team players are enjoying a well-deserved break after the home series against Afghanistan, experienced Mahmudullah Riyad was seen at the BCB Academy ground training on his own on Wednesday.
Experienced campaigner Mahmudullah Riyad did not make the cut in Bangladesh’s 26-member preparatory camp for the upcoming Afghanistan series at home.