Shakib Al Hasan named captain till T20 World Cup as Bangladesh announce 17-member Asia Cup squad

Shakib Al Hasan has been appointed as the T20I captain of the Bangladesh team until the T20 World Cup 2022, to be played later this year. The announcement came alongside the naming of a 17-member squad for the Asia Cup by Bangladesh's selectors.

His first assignment as skipper will be the group match against Afghanistan in Sharjah on August 30. Bangladesh are placed alongside Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in Group B.

Bangladesh Squad for Asia Cup: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Anamul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Mahmudullah, Mahedi Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman, Nasum Ahmed, Sabbir Rahman, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Ebadot Hossain, Parvez Hossain Emon, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Taskin Ahmed.

The return of several key players like Shakib, Mushfiqur Rahim, Sabbir Rahman, Ebadat Hossain, and Mohammad Saifuddin will provide a much-needed boost for the Bangladesh team in the shortest format.

Litton Das was the most notable omission with injury ruling him out of the tournament. Saifuddin is making a comeback to the national side after almost 10 months.

Out-of-favour Sabbir Rahman is also returning to the side after playing his last T20I in 2019.

Bangladesh had reached the final of the last edition of Asia Cup - played in the 50-over format. They came tantalizingly close to winning the title but were pipped to the post by India.

This time around, the Shakib-led team would look to register their first ever triumph in the Asia Cup and prepare themselves for the bigger challenge of the T20 World Cup.

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Shakib Al Hasan gets top job after cancelling ties with Betwinner

Bangladesh had missed the previous deadline to announce their squad for the Asia Cup. The announcement comes after Shakib Al Hasan cancelled an endorsement deal with a betting site on the instructions of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).

All forms of gambling are illegal in Bangladesh and administrators were quick to seek an explanation from the cricket star.

In a statement, BCB Chief of Operations, Jalal Yunus told AFP:

“Shakib gave a letter to us saying that he was terminating his contract with Betwinner news and removing all posts from his social media pages regarding the deal.”

The appointment is expected to inject confidence into Shakib as Bangladesh chase their maiden Asia Cup trophy. He has previously led Bangladesh in 21 T20Is in which he guided the side to seven victories.

Shakib was earlier appointed as Test captain in June after Mominul Haque’s resignation.

Nurul Hasan (two T20Is) and Mosaddek Hossain (one T20I) served as captain for Bangladesh during their recently concluded tour of Zimbabwe, where they lost the T20I series 1-2.

This defeat came as a major setback since Zimbabwe are considered among the minnows of world cricket. With Shakib Al Hasan, a leading member of both the batting and bowling department, in charge, Bangladesh will look to get back on the winning track.