Litton Das has been appointed Bangladesh captain for an entire T20I series for the first time – he filled in once for Mahmudullah on the tour of New Zealand in April 2021 – for the three-match series to round off the ongoing all-format tour of the West Indies.
There is a return for batting allrounder Shamim Hossain, who last played in a T20I – or any international match – in December 2023 in New Zealand. Shamim, 24, has had a run in the format but hasn’t quite broken through yet. In 14 T20I innings, he has 254 runs at a strike rate of 115.98, and a highest of 51, his only half-century.
The somewhat left-field pick is that of Ripon Mondol, the tall 21-year-old medium-fast bowler who played three T20Is in October 2023, all at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, where he picked up four wickets as Bangladesh finished third.
There is still no Najmul Hossain Shanto, the regular all-format captain, who is recovering after picking up a hamstring injury during the series against Afghanistan in November. There is also no update on Shakib Al Hasan’s availability, or future, in international cricket.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz led Bangladesh in the two-Test series in the Caribbean, which was split 1-1, and is also their leader in the ongoing ODI series.
From the last T20I squad that played in India in October, Towhid Hridoy (groin injury), Mustafizur Rahman (on a break after becoming a father) and Rakibul Hasan are missing, along with Mahmudullah, who has since retired from the format.
Apart from Shamim and Mondal, fast bowler Hasan Mahmud, left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed, top-order batter Soumya Sarkar, who starred in Rangpur Riders’ Global Super League title win recently, and middle-order batter Afif Hossain have come in for this series.
Bangladesh squad for T20I series against West Indies
Litton Das (capt), Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Jaker Ali, Shamim Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan, Hasan Mahmud, Ripon Mondol
Source: ESPN Crickinfo
