|| CF Correspondent ||

Bangladesh national skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza on Tuesday hinted that Sabbir Rahman along with pace bowler Shafiul Islam and Taskin Ahmed might return to the national squad for the three match ODI series against New Zealand in February.

The ongoing sixth edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) is expected to play a crucial role for few national discards as the selectors are set to announce the Tigers one day squad on Wednesday.

There have been quite a few names with their performance but it looks Sabbir Rahman is all set to return while there is a chance that either Taskin Ahmed or Shafiul Islam may eventually make the cut.

“I think Taskin is doing well along with Shafiul. Sabbir also played well in the previous game. But if you look overall it is unlikely to have huge changes in the squad,’’ Mashrafe told reporters on Tuesday.

“There are few places if they can perform well there is good chance for them too. But still the tournament is long way to go,” Mashrafe told the reporters when asked over the local performers who caught his eyes in the BPL.

Taskin who played his last ODI back in 2017 lost his place due to poor performance along with injury issues but has been in good shape in the BPL for Sylhet Sixers so far as the right arm seamer bagged 14 wickets in seven games. 

Another pacer Shafiul also remained instrumental for Rangpur Riders where he picked up 13 wickets in eight games.

Meanwhile Sabbir’s sixth month international ban after the cricketer allegedly abused a fan in social media is set to finish in February which means the right hander is also in consideration for the selection.

After missing out with the bat for Sylhet Sixers in the first five games Sabbir finally managed to score 85 runs against Rangpur in the previous game. Mashrafe who have high hopes over Sabbir informed that it will be important for the hard hitting batsman to continue his performance in the coming days.