Fresh off a T20 series win against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh have decided not to tinker with the squad for T20I games against Pakistan, starting July 20. The three-game series will run under the lights from July 20 to 24 at Dhaka’s Shere Bangla National Stadium. While Pakistan’s squad arrived early in Dhaka, the Bangladesh side reached the city soon after securing a 2-1 defeat against Sri Lanka, who were on the receiving end of Bangladesh’s onslaught in Colombo in the series decider.
BCB’s CEO, Najmul Abedeen Fahim, said the board wants to prioritise consistency before the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka next year, to ensure stability within the side. Bangladesh managed to reach the Super 8 stages in the last T20 World Cup, which was the second time they did so in history. This time, they will look to go one better.
“It’s a different matter if changes are necessary, but till the World Cup, we want consistency and to avoid unnecessary experimentation. It’s important to have stability in the squad,” he said.
The series marked Litton Das’ second consecutive away series win as a captain, making him the first Bangladesh captain to do so. His first win came against West Indies (3-0) in December last year. Das, who replaced Najmul Hossain Shanto as the T20 captain in May after leading the side in the Caribbean as a stand-in, also experienced a change in his batting form. In Dambulla, he managed to score his first half-century since the T20 World Cup, helping Bangladesh win despite a collapse.
Besides him, the rest of Bangladesh’s batters are also enjoying the same rare batting depth in the format. Tanzid Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, and Shamim Hossain all made valuable contributions against Sri Lanka. Similarly, the bowling attack, which was strengthened by the return of pace spearheads Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rehman, did a pretty decent job. Mehidy Hasan Miraz, single-handedly, kept Bangladesh in the hunt in the final T20I in Colombo by grabbing four wickets for just eleven runs in his quota of four overs.
Against Pakistan, though, the challenge wouldn’t be any easier. Bangladesh haven’t defeated them in the format since 2016, and had to endure a 3-0 clean sweep in Lahore earlier this year.
Besides Pakistan, tackling the monsoon rains will be on Bangladesh’s agenda too. The weather forecast isn’t very promising, which might see games getting washed out or at least, truncated.
Squad for Bangladesh vs Pakistan T20Is:
Bangladesh:
Litton Das (capt), Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Mohammad Naim, Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali, Shamim Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rishad Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mohammad Saifuddin.
Pakistan:
Salman Agha (capt), Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Sufiyan Muqeem
Schedule: Pakistan Tour of Bangladesh:
20 July – 1st T20I, Sher-e-Bangla Stadium, Dhaka – 5:00 PM
22 July – 2nd T20I, Sher-e-Bangla Stadium, Dhaka – 5:00 PM
24 July – 3rd T20I, Sher-e-Bangla Stadium, Dhaka – 5:00 PM
All times are in Pakistan Standard Time
