Four make debut as Tigers bat first

Bangladesh have won the toss and will bat first in the first T20 against Sri Lanka at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

Four new faces, in the form of Afif Hossain, Zakir Hasan, Ariful Haque and Nazmul Islam have been included in the final XI. Tanmim Iqbal, who was suffering from a pain to his hand has been excluded from the first T20.

Afif Hossain

Afif burst onto the scene when he became the youngest to take a five-for, including the wicket of Chris Gayle, with his off-spin on his debut for Rajshahi Kings against Rangpur Riders in the 2016 BPL.

Nazmul Islam

With 174 wickets in 51 first-class games Nazmul's snake-dance celebration after picking wickets became famous. He is also a tough bowler to go after. The 26-year-old took 12 wickets for Rangpur Riders at an economy rate of 6.53 and can play a big role in Shakib Al Hasan's absence.

Zakir Hasan

Young wicketkeeper-batsman Zakir Hasan has been in the age-level setup before his batting exploits in the last season's BPL caught the eyes of the selectors. With good technique and timing, the left-hander played some cameos for Rajshahi Kings in the BPL.

Ariful Haque

Ariful has been out of the scene for quite some time before last season's BPL. A pace bowling all-rounder with a reputation of being a big hitter late in the order, Ariful displayed glimpses of his hard-hitting  ability for Khulna, managing to clinch a few games for his side single-handedly.

Bangladesh XI: Mahmudullah Riyad (capt), Soumya Sarkar, Afif Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Sabbir Rahman, Ariful Haque, Mohammad Saifuddin, Nazmul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Zakir Hossain