Bangladesh name three uncapped players in 15-man T20 squad to face England

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has included three uncapped players in the 15-man T20 squad to face England in a three-match series. Towhid Hridoy, Rejaur Rahman Raja and Tanvir Islam showcased their class in the recently-concluded edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and hence, have found a spot in the squad.

Aside from the trio, Rony Talukdar has returned to the national setup after eight years owing to his sensational run with the bat in the BPL. The 32-year-old made his only international appearance in 2015 and now forced his way back into the side. Shamim Hosain has also returned to the Bangladesh side for the first time since 2021.

Chief selector, Minhajul Abedin addressed the selection decisions, telling Cricbuzz:

"All of them performed well in the BPL and that is the reason we picked them. Rony really played well in the tournament while it was the same for Shamim and as far as the debutants are concerned they did well in the shortest format to earn their spot."

Abedin revealed that although Yasir Ali, Soumya Sarkar, Ebadot Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain and Shoriful Islam have been left out, they are still in the mix.

"We are going to sit with them in the coming days to discuss with them about our plans because they are under our 20 to 22 members pool."

Talukdar was the second-highest run-getter in the 2022-23 BPL edition, hammering 425 runs at 129.18, while Hridoy was behind him with 403 runs.

Meanwhile, Tanvir Islam was the top wicket-taker in the tournament with 17 scalps in 12 games. The three-game T20 series starts on March 9th in Chattogram, while Dhaka will host the next two matches on March 12th and 14th. It will also be the first bilateral T20I series between the two sides.

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Bangladesh's 15-man T20I squad to face England

Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Liton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Nasum Ahmed, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Shamim Hossain, Rony Talukdar, Towhid Hridoy, Rejaur Rahman Raja and Tanvir Islam