|| CF DESK ||

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announces the squad for the Tour of Pakistan as Bangladesh team will leave for Pakistan tomorrow (Monday, 12 August) for two ICC World Test Championship matches in Rawalpindi and Karachi.

Pacer Taskin Ahmed returned to the Test side only for the second Test after announcing a break from Red Ball cricket, while Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who was a Member of Parliament of the dissolved Awami League, found himself in the squad.

Shakib played in Tigers' last red-ball assignment in May when BCB hosted Sri Lanka for a two-match series and has featured in T20 cricket since then. He will join the team directly from Canada's GT20.

Mushfiqur Rahim could not play in the last Test series against Sri Lanka due to injury as he returned to the Test team with the Pakistan series.

The players' preparations had been disrupted as a result of the ongoing political unrest in Bangladesh.

The squad will assemble in Lahore and will train at the Gaddafi Stadium from 14-16 August before traveling to Islamabad on 17 August for the first Test.

“The emphasis was on picking our best players for this version. This is a well balanced squad. The likes of Mushfiqur (Rahim), Mominul (Haque) and Shakib (Al Hasan) have played 216 matches combined and there is no substitute for that kind of experience. Taijul (Islam) and Miraz (Mehidy Hasan) have been leading the spin department for a long time and have over 350 wickets between them. We also expect Shanto (Najmul Hossain), Litton (Kumer Das) and the other batsmen to step up because to be competitive against Pakistan, we will need a team effort.” Gazi Ashraf Hossain, Chairman National Selection Panel said.

“We have selected five pacers mindful of the fact that Taskin Ahmed will only play the second Test. He hasn’t bowled in a Test since June last year and we have decided to include him in the A Team for the second four-dayer against Pakistan A to get him into the rhythm for longer version matches.  Also, a couple of the pacers may join the A Team for the one-day matches and therefore we needed backups. Our attack has variety with bowlers who can bowl fast and also swing the ball and I am really looking forward to seeing them perform against world class batsmen.”        

“Pakistan are very tough opponents, especially in their home front and it will be a challenging tour for us. It is good that we will get additional time to prepare in Lahore. Also, some players who are in Pakistan already with the Bangladesh A side, will join the national team for the Test series. Their experience of the conditions should come in handy.”

The first Test begins on 21 August while the second match starts on 30 August.

SQUAD

Najmul Hossain Shanto (Captain), Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Kumer Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Nahid Rana, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed, Syed Khaled Ahmed