Mominul set to lead in Rawalpindi
Mominul Haque is set to be retained as captain of the Bangladesh Test side when the selectors announce the squad for the first Test of a two-match series against Pakistan, which is expected to happen today.
Chief selector Minhajul Abedin has already submitted the Test team to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and it was learned that there will be a few changes from the previous Test side that played in India in November last year, when Bangladesh lost the series 2-0.
According to Minhajul, the upcoming series will be a tough challenge for Bangladesh as he expects the conditions in Pakistan to be difficult.
“We have already submitted a Test team to the board and it is expected to be announced tomorrow [Saturday]. The BCB decides about the captain but as far as we know Mominul will lead the side for the first Test against Pakistan. We have some injury concerns as Shadman Islam is suffering from a wrist injury while Mehedi Hasan Miraz is also suffering from a finger injury,” Minhajul told The Daily Star yesterday.
It was learned that another left-handed opener Nazmul Hossain Shanto, who played his last Test against Zimbabwe two years ago, is likely to replace Shadman while off-spinner Nayeem Hasan is expected to be Mehedi’s replacement.
With the first Test in Rawalpindi from February 7 less than two weeks away, the BCB hurriedly started preparations to host the Bangladesh Cricket League, a franchise-based first-class competition that kicked off yesterday.
That raised questions over whether it would be sufficient preparation for the Tigers to put up a fight against the home side, but Minhajul said the BCL games would be the best preparations keeping the short preparation time in mind.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo had a meeting with Tigers’ ODI skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza alongside chief selector Minhajul at the home of cricket in Mirpur during the BCL game yesterday.
According to Minhajul, Domingo and Mashrafe had a courtesy meeting as they had not spoken to each other in a long time.
Bangladesh are scheduled to travel to Pakistan on February 4. It will be the second phase of their tour, having played three T20Is in Lahore in January.
Bangladesh will travel to Pakistan for the third and final phase to take part in a solitary ODI on April 3 in Karachi, which will be followed by the second Test from April 7 at the same venue.
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