Uncapped 17-year-old allrounder Naeem Hasan has been named in the Bangladesh squad for the first Test against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh Cricket Board announced on Friday (January 26).
This series will also see Shakib al Hasan return as Test captain after Mushfiqur Rahim stepped down after the tour of South Africa last year.
Sri Lanka Test squad for Bangladesh series announced
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This will be Shakib’s second stint as captain of the Test team, having been replaced by Mushfiqur in 2011. His first stint, from July 2009 to August 2011, saw him lead the team in nine Tests, with one win and eight losses.
Hasan impressed in the Under-19 Asia Cup last year where he picked up five wickets and went on to bowl ten overs for eight runs, a spell that included seven maidens, against Malaysia. He’s also part of the Bangladesh squad in the Under-19 World Cup.
“He is some kind of surprise package in our squad,” Bangladesh chief selector Minhajul Abedin told Cricbuzz. “We have been monitoring him since he has been playing age group cricket and believe he is quite ready for international cricket now considering the experience he gained in the first-class competition.
Soumya Sarkar has been dropped from the side after his dismal show in South Africa while Subashis Roy and Shafiul Islam failed to find a place because of fitness issues. Kamrul Islam, who has played five Tests so far, too has been named in the 14-member squad. Islam last played a Test against India, a one-off affair in Hyderabad, where he went wicketless.
Mosaddek Hossain, who has played just one Test so far, has earned the faith of the selectors after he scored a ton in the first-class fixture for South Zone against East Zone. Litton Das is again expected to take up the wicketkeeping responsibilities while Mushfiqur is set to play as a pure batsman.
“He [Mossadek] regained his fitness and scoring runs as well since he started to participate in competitive cricket. His also played well during the Test series against Sri Lanka,” Minhajul pointed out. “Kamrul have the ability to bowl long spells while his skills with the old ball can also come in handy for us.”
The first Test of the two-Test series will be played from January 31 to February 4 in Chittagong. The series will be followed by two Twenty20 Internationals.
Squad: Shakib al Hasan (c), Mahmudullah, Litton Das (wk), Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque, Mosaddek Hossain, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Kamrul Islam, Mehidy Hasan, Rubel Hossain, Naeem Hasan.
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