Fresh from a historic ODI series victory over Australia, Bangladesh will look to carry their confidence into the shortest format as the two sides begin a three-match T20I series in Chattogram on Wednesday. The remaining matches will follow on 19 and 21 June.
The two teams last met in a T20I at the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup, where Australia prevailed. Overall, Australia hold a 7-4 advantage from 11 meetings in the format.
Bangladesh captain Litton Das remains a doubt after picking up a calf muscle injury during the third ODI at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. “I’m feeling better than before, but we’ll assess it today and tomorrow before making a decision,” he said on Tuesday. If Litton misses out, vice-captain Towhid Hridoy is expected to lead the side, which would mark his first international appearance as Bangladesh captain.
Despite the format change, Litton believes the ODI momentum can carry over. “When you play good cricket against a big team, it’s a positive. Not only have we won the series, but we have played very good cricket in all three matches. So that’s definitely a plus point,” he said. He also highlighted the benefit of continuity. “Most of our players featured in the ODI series rather than coming in solely from the T20 side. So everyone carries that confidence,” he added.
Bangladesh have added Soumya Sarkar to their squad as cover for Litton and opener Parvez Hossain Emon, who is dealing with illness. The hosts also welcome back frontline pacers Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed and Nahid Rana, all rested during the recent T20I series against New Zealand that ended 1-1.
Their return creates strong competition for places. “It’s good to have a strong pace attack because you can pick anyone in the best eleven. This is healthy competition. At the same time, it’s fantastic that the bench strength of Bangladesh is getting stronger,” Litton said.
Shoriful Islam has further complicated selection after a match-winning six-wicket haul in the final ODI against Australia. Bangladesh may want to field Mustafizur, Taskin and Nahid together, but dropping Shoriful after such an impact performance would be a difficult call.
Australia, meanwhile, will be led by Mitchell Marsh, who missed the ODI series while recovering from a calf injury. “The guys are really looking forward to this series. No doubt it’s been a tough tour, but we’re going in with high hopes to win this series and play some really good cricket,” he said.
Bangladesh are likely to open with Saif Hassan and Tanzid Hasan, with Soumya potentially moving into the top order if both Litton and Emon remain unavailable. Shamim Hossain, Mahedi Hasan and Rishad Hossain are expected to play key roles.
