Shahid & Litton in for first Test

Three uncapped players -- Soumya Sarker, Litton Das and Mohammad Shahid – were named as the Bangladesh selectors announced a 14-member squad for the first Test against Pakistan which will start from April 28 at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium in Khulna.

Litton was in the squad for the lone Twenty20 International after the bulk of runs he scored domestic competitions while Soumya has already debuted in T20s yesterday after his impressive run in ODIs. However, 26-year-old right-arm pacer Mohammad Shahid, who took a wicket for 34 runs for BCB XI against Pakistanis in the practice one-dayer, is a fresh addition to the national fold.

Chief selector Faruque Ahmed said that they had considered the performance of the players in the last Test series at home against Zimbabwe in October-November last year apart from the performance in the domestic circuit.

"The newcomers are deserving of their spots through performances in domestic and international cricket. Shahid is a strong lad capable of bowling long spells and he has been a consistent performer in first class games. Litton has scored heavily in the last couple of seasons while Soumya has started strongly in ODIs. He (Soumya) may not bat in the same position if he gets picked but he can give us a lot of depth in the batting order," said Faruque.

"We prefer to give the players a reasonable run of games and Imrul Kayes keeps his place by virtue of his performance in the last Test series. Shahadat Hossain has bowled very well in the National Cricket League (NCL) and he has the experience. We consider Taijul as one of the best left-arm spin options for us in Tests and Jubaer Hossain's leg-spin is a valuable addition to our attack," added Faruque.

SQUAD
Tamim Iqbal (vice-captain), Imrul Kayes, Litton Kumar Das, Mominul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (captain), Mahmudullah Riyad, Shuvagoto Hom, Soumya Sarker, Taijul Islam, Jubaer Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Shahadat Hossain and Mohammad Shahid.