Hasan Mahmud replaces injured Taskin Ahmed for Bangladesh Tour of USA 2024

Right-arm pacer Hasan Mahmud will replace Taskin Ahmed in Bangladesh's squad for the three-match T20I series against the United States. Ahmed's scan report showed a fracture in his rib, which has put his 2024 T20 World Cup plans in jeopardy as well.

Ahmed emerged as the top-wicket taker in the T20I series against Zimbabwe with eight scalps in four appearances. However, the speedster sustained a strain, while saving a boundary in the fourth game, and was ruled out of the final T20I on May 12.

Hasan Mahmud has featured in 22 ODIs, 17 T20Is, and a solitary Test for the Bangladesh team. He picked up a total of six wickets for the Tigers in a Test fixture against Sri Lanka last month.

Here's what the member of the selection panel confirmed to Cricbuzz on Monday:

"Hasan Mahmud will certainly travel to USA for three T20Is and he is the front-runner to replace Taskin if he eventually cannot make it into the World Cup."

However, Taskin Ahmed will be traveling with the team and is expected to recover before the big-ticket event. If he doesn't attain full fitness, the Bangladesh Cricket Board can make the changes to the squad until May 25.

"I think before the World there are couple of weeks left and during this time frame Taskin can recover," a medical source told Cricbuzz.

The likes of pacer Tanzim Hasan Sakib and left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam are also in the fray to fill the absence of Taskin Ahmed in the global event.

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Bangladesh secured a dominating series win against Zimbabwe

Ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup, Bangladesh have delivered impressive performances against Zimbabwe. The first three T20Is were played in Chattogram, while Mirpur was the host for the remaining two games.

Bangladesh prevailed 4-1 over the Sikandar Raza-led side, who did well in parts but couldn't ace crunch moments. The final game of the series witnessed Zimbabwe sealing the chase of 158, with top knocks from Sikandar Raza (72*) and Brian Bennett (70).