Bangladesh announce 16-man squad for T20I series against Pakistan 

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) have announced a 16-man squad for the upcoming three-match T20 series against Pakistan.

Mahmudullah will continue to lead the side in the absence of senior members like Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim.

Tamim Iqbal continues to be absent from the national team due to a thumb injury. The left-handed opener was also not part of the recently concluded T20 World Cup in the UAE.

All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan misses out on the series due to a hamstring injury he suffered midway through the tournament. Wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim has been rested, while Litton Das, Soumya Sarkar and Rubel Hossain have been left out.

There are six overall changes from the team selected for the T20 World Cup. BCB chief selector Minhajul Abedin said:

''As we had a miserable World Cup, we have to bring some changes to make a turnaround in the upcoming series. For making a new start, we have called up some new faces.

"I hope those who got the call up are well prepared for the international arena. They trained while playing for HP. We are hopeful that they will do well.''

Bangladesh squad for the T20I series against Pakistan: Mahmud Ullah (captain), Naim Sheikh, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Afif Hossain, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Aminul Islam Biplob, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Shamim Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Saif Hassan, Yasir Ali Chowdhury, Shohidul Islam, Akbar Ali.

Bangladesh looking to bounce back from T20 WC blushes

Bangladesh performed well below expectations at the 2021 T20 World Cup following a solid build-up to it. The team had recorded historic series victories over finalists New Zealand and Australia at home prior to the tournament.

Bangladesh endured an upset in the qualification stage, but were able to make it through to the Super 12s stage. While they put up a good display against Sri Lanka, it only got worse for the Tigers as the tournament progressed.

They were skittled out for totals below 100 in successive games and bowed out with zero points across five games.