Lipu banks on experience of Mahmudullah, quality of Miraz

Veteran Mahmudullah Riyad held his spot while Mehedi Hasan Miraz made a comeback to the T20I side as Bangladesh announced a 15-member squad for the three-match T20I series against India, starting in Gwalior on October 6.

Chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu backed under-fire Mahmudullah, saying that he had not given up on experience despite underlining how this squad was a reflection of their plans for the 2026 T20 World Cup.

Mahmudullah had come under scrutiny after star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan announced that ''he had played his final T20I'' on Friday to make way for new faces, keeping in mind the major event two years later.

Many had pointed out how Mahmudullah, who dished out a detrimental performance in Bangladesh's last Super Eights match, should follow suit or be axed from the demanding format in which the 38-year-old has struggled in, as evidenced by a career strike-rate of under 117.81. He batted with a strike-rate of 94.05 in the T20 World Cup earlier this year.

"Mahmudullah Riyad is in the team. We still have faith in him that he can help the team," Lipu said in a video message yesterday.

Miraz, on the other hand, received a recall after 14 months due to Shakib's absence. Lipu explained how they were not looking at the 26-year-old for the 20-over format but Shakib's unexpected announcement had prompted them to rope him in.

"The great Shakib Al Hasan announced that he had played his final T20I. Considering his experience and performance, we don't have someone anywhere near him for replacement but batting-wise; someone who can make up for Shakib's absence is Mehedi Hasan Miraz. He will take that spot.

"Our thinking is that Miraz can make his biggest contributions with the bat. He bowls good off-spin but we did not go for him in the T20 World Cup; a big reason for that was that we did not want to hamper his batting or bowling in Test and ODIs through the aggressive nature of T20 cricket. We thought that his Powerplay bowling was not a good option. We were clear then about where we wanted to see him. In the context, we want to see him bat higher and not as a finisher."

Soumya Sarker was dropped and left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam was sidelined due to injury, making way for opener Parvez Hossain Emon and Rakibul Hasan.

SQUAD: Najmul Hossain Shanto (C), Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Parvez Hossain Emon, Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Liton Kumar Das, Jaker Ali Anik, Mehedi Hassan Miraz, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Rakibul Hasan.