Najmul Hossain Shanto, to Bangladesh fan’s elation, is good as new to make his return to the side for the Champions Trophy, due to begin on February 19. A groin strain had kept him out of all international fixtures for Bangladesh since early November last year. Along with Shanto, the Champions Trophy-bound squad will have Mushfiqur Rahim, Towhid Hridoy, and Mustafizur Rahman making comebacks as well.
The opening batter Litton Das has been left out of the squad owing to his dismal outings with the bat of late. Litton has not scored even a single fifty in the last 19 innings, regardless of formats. While his potential as a batter is undoubtedly intact, Bangladesh decided not to take any risks with him, given his form.
Bangladesh Chief Selector Ghazi Ashraf Hossain said that pitches in Pakistan would require them to be best equipped, especially with the top-order batting, and with Litton Das out of form, his presence might hurt the team.
“Litton is out of form.” Bangladesh Chief Selector said. “He is getting out in a similar pattern. He is unable to take advantage of the powerplay in the white-ball format. He is unable to last at the crease. He is getting exposed. Opposition analysts are getting too successful against Litton. We gave him chances but there isn’t much trust left.”
“We have considered Litton’s past performances, especially his recent-past efforts. It became hard to be confident about Litton when he couldn’t score runs in the West Indies where the rest of the batters got us to big totals. We will play on good batting wickets in Rawalpindi. New Zealand lost there despite scoring 336, so we have to take in-form top-order batters.”
In Litton’s absence, Bangladesh must find someone to bat at one of the opening positions. The side’s Chief Selector said Soumya Sarkar and Tanzid Hasan are probably going to take on the opening responsibility during the Champions Trophy.
“Soumya [Sarkar] and [Tanzid Hasan] Tamim are most likely to open the innings, so Litton is unlikely to hold a place in the XI. There’s no doubting his class though. I think we can get him out of his form crisis quite well. We have experts to work with him during this time.”
Another notable yet expected absence from the squad is Shakib Al Hasan, who was earlier suspended from bowling in the top-tier cricket for his illegal actions. Following the suspension, he twice failed his independent bowling action assessment, effectively stifling all of his chances of making a comeback in the team.
Taskin Ahmed will spearhead a pace-attack including Mustafizur and the rookie pacer Nahid Rana. Bangladesh have not added a frontline spinner to the squad, however, their spin all-rounders can do the job just the same, perhaps better.
Bangladesh are part of Group A in the eight-team tournament, which includes Pakistan, India, and New Zealand. The Najmul Hossain Shanto-led men will begin their campaign with a game against India in Dubai on February 20.
Bangladesh squad for Champions Trophy
Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Mushfiqur Rahim (wicket-keeper), Towhid Hridoy, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Mahmudullah, Jaker Ali, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Parvez Hossain Emon, Nasum Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Nahid Rana.
