Selectors send 'important message' with Tigers T20I squad

Chief selector Minhajul Abedin Nannu informed the Bangladesh think tank are moving forward with a long-term plan for the T20 format, and hence several fresh faces were included in the T20 squad for the England series.

As many as five players, who made their presence felt in the recently concluded Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), were included in the Tigers T20I squad to face England later this month.

Rony Talukdar and Shamim Hossain were the returnees, while Towhid Hridoy, Rejaur Rahman Raja, and Tanvir Islam received their maiden T20I call-up.

"We are going to play T20 cricket for the first time since last World Cup. Many players performed well in the recently concluded BPL and we considered it while picking up the team," said Nannu.

"We are also plaining with some players for next one year. I can be a pool of 22 to 24. We will make all our plan with them. And another thing is we started with some in-form players for the [England] series," he added.

The former national skipper also said that they highly emphasised on players' fitness and that was the reason they did not hesitate to bring back a player like Rony, who made a return to the national side following a seven-year gap, while Shamim was picked for the first time since November 2021.

"Fitness is very important. It's a very important message for the domestic players that the age is not a factor if they are fit enough," Nannu further said.

The three-match T20 series will starts in Chattogram on March 9. The second and third games are scheduled in Mirpur. This will be the first bilateral T20 international series between the two teams.

SQUAD

Shakib Al Hasan (Captain), Liton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Afif Hossain, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Nasum Ahmed, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Shamim Hossain, Rony Talukdar, Towhid Hridoy, Rejaur Rahman Raja and Tanvir Islam.