Four rookies called up
Four uncapped players have been drafted when Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced a 25-member preliminary squad for the upcoming Asia Cup to be held in Pakistan from June 24 to July 6.
The Rafiqul Alam-led national selection panel picked Nayeem Islam, Rubel Hossain, Dollar Mahmud and Nadif Chowdhury and also brought back players like Alok Kapali and Mehrab Hossain in the fold.
Wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim, the highest run-getter in the just concluded Premier League, was included among the probables and has become a serious contender to comeback into the final team for next month's tri-series at home as well as the Asia Cup.
Chief selector Rafiq informed that they will declare the final team for the Asia Cup, where the Tigers are with UAE and Sri Lanka in the same group, by the end of this months and hinted that it would be more or less the same team that would be announced for the tri-nation tournament involving India and Pakistan.
"We considered current national players and previous national players besides the performers from the under-19 and academy team before picking the preliminary squad. We preferred some new face as we felt that they could be our future prospects," explained Rafiq.
"We will announce the final team before the end of this month and hopefully it would be the same team what we would announce for tri-series because there is hardly any time between the two events," added the former national player.
It was expected that a 14-member team would be announced yesterday for the tri-nation tournament to be held at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium but the selection committee has decided to take a few more days before taking the final decision.
The selectors were still searching for a suitable replacement of all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who kept himself away from national duty to attend the HSC examination, and they also want to get the full fitness report before announcing the team.
"It's not easy to replace Shakib because not only is his batting vital but also the bowling. We are still thinking on the issue and have to think anew with the team combination because of his absence," said Rafiq.
There are a number of names coming into discussion about Shakib's replacement and Nayeem is one of them but chief selector said that they will consider a new face only if they are forced to do it.
"We can't make too many changes in the team when we are going to play teams like Pakistan and India. We are also opposed to give out too many debuts but sometimes you are forced to do that to get the right replacement," said Rafiq when asked whether there was any chance to see another player making international debut.
SQUAD
Mohammad Ashraful, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Zunaed Siddiqui, Mahmudullah Riyad, Tamim Iqbal, Aftab Ahmed, Abdur Razzak, Forhad Reza, Shahriar Nafees, Nazimuddin, Syed Rasel, Rokibul Hasan, Shakib Al Hasan, Shahadat Hossain, Dhiman Ghosh, Mushfiqur Rahim, Naeem Islam, Mehrab Hossain Jr, Mosharraf Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Dollar Mahmud, Nazmul Hossain, Nadif Chowdhury, Alok Kapali and Sajidul Islam.
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