Mahmud in as Tigers leave for New Zealand
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) replaced all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan with uncapped Fazle Mahmud for the upcoming two-Test tour of New Zealand, for which the Tigers were scheduled to leave in the early hours of Thursday.
The Bangladesh squad was scheduled to depart for Dubai, UAE on way to New Zealand at 1:00am. The decision from the BCB comes after Shakib had opted out of the New Zealand series, part of the 2021-2023 cycle of the ICC World Test Championship, citing family reasons.
Shakib, however, was initially included in the 18-member squad for the tour despite verbally communicating his unavailability to the BCB. The board granted Shakib's leave application eventually. Shakib's absence opened the door for Mahmud, who earned a maiden call-up to the Test squad following a stellar showing in the recently concluded National Cricket League (NCL) in which the 33-year-old finished as the leading scorer with 630 runs at an average of 60.30.
The left-hander had previously featured in two ODIs for Bangladesh against Zimbabwe in 2018, failing to leave a mark as he was dismissed for ducks in both matches. The Bangladesh team, meanwhile, were boosted by the inclusion of Sri Lankan spin legend Rangana Herath, who has agreed to a two-year term extension as spin bowling coach and is set to join the squad in New Zealand.
Herath was the team's spin consultant for the away series against Zimbabwe this year followed by home series against Australia and New Zealand and the ICC Twenty20 World Cup.
Comments