The Bangladesh Cricket Board announced a 31-man preliminary squad that will take part in the national training camp from May 13 to prepare for the full tour of West Indies in July-August. Interestingly, there is supposed to be a three-T20I away series against Afghanistan before the Caribbean tour, but the BCB in its press release announcing the squad on Tuesday evening mentioned only the tour of West Indies.
On May 3 BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury said on May 3 that dates of the Afghanistan series, which is tentatively scheduled to take place in the Indian city of Dehradun, would be finalised “within the next two-three days”. Five days on, however, the Afghanistan Cricket Board however is yet to officially announce the dates for the series that will count as their home series. It is perhaps for that reason that the BCB has not officially said that the squad is also for the Afghanistan series.
19-year-old medium-fast bowler Yeasin Arafat, who recently took seven wickets for North Zone in the fifth-round Bangladesh Cricket League match against East Zone, was the only first-time entrant in the national squad.
Five of the cricketers named in the squad – Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Taskin Ahmed and Mehedi Hasan Miraz -- are still recuperating from injuries, but BCB chief physician Dr Debashish Chowdhury informed on May 3 that most of them are expected to recover to varying degrees by the time the camp starts.
Chief selector Minhajul Abedin had said on the same day that the panel would submit the squad on May 5, but BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury had said earlier that the announcement of the squad will be on May 5.
Bangladesh 31-member preliminary squad:
Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Sabbir Rahman, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Mahmudullah Riyad, Liton Das, Mominul Haque, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Naeem Hasan, Abu Hider, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Rubel Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Mosaddek Hossain, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Abu Jayed, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Nazmul Islam, Mohammad Mithun, Ariful Haque, Shafiul Islam, Shadman Islam, Yeasin Arafat, Abul Hasan Raju, Abdur Razzak
