Bangladesh made two changes to their starting XI for Saturday’s SAFF Championship semi-final against Pakistan, with Rahmat Mia replacing the injured Saad Uddin and Shuki Itofusa coming in for Mohammad Ibrahim.
Both players had featured as substitutes in Bangladesh’s 4-0 victory over Sri Lanka in their previous match. Rahmat replaced Saad after the latter suffered an Achilles injury, which ruled him out of the remainder of the tournament.
The rest of the starting lineup remained unchanged as Bangladesh coach Thomas Dooley kept faith with the players who helped secure the semi-final spot.
There was no place in the starting XI for Topu Barman and Bishwanath Ghosh, despite both defenders returning to training ahead of the semi-final.
The winners will face defending champions India in the final on November 17.
Bangladesh XI: Mehedi Hasan Srabon; Tariq Kazi, Zidane Yousuf, Zayyan Ahmed, Rahmat Mia; Hamza Choudhury, Shamit Shome, Syed Shah Quazem Kirmanee; Rakib Hossain, Shuki Itofusa, Farhaan Ali Wahid.
