Bangladesh have picked a new look squad for the first two T20Is against New Zealand. The focus is on young pace options. Ripon Mondal and Abdul Gaffar Saqlain are the key additions.
Ripon gets his chance after steady work with the ball. He has done well at the death. He has only played three T20 matches before. Those games came at the Asian Games. Now he gets a bigger stage.
Saqlain earns his first call. He is a pace bowling allrounder. He can bowl with pace and also hit late runs. The team sees him as a useful option in this format.
Bangladesh have rested Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed and Nahid Rana. This gives space to test new players.
Litton Das will lead the side. Saif Hassan is the vice captain. The squad has a mix of young batters and spin options.
The first two matches will be on 27 and 29 April at the Bir Shrestha Shaheed Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Cricket Stadium. The last match will be on 2 May at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Squad:
Litton Das (c), Parvez Hossain Emon, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Saif Hassan (vc), Shamim Hossain, Tawhid Hridoy, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Rishad Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Ripon Mondol, Mohammad Saifuddin, Abdul Gaffar Saqlain.
