After multiple delays, Bangladesh finally submitted their 17-man squad for the Asia Cup on August 13, and star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan will once again lead the Bangla Tigers in the Asia Cup, the New Zealand T20I tri-series featuring the hosts and the T20I World Cup as well.
While the tri-series featuring the Kiwis and Pakistan will be Bangladesh’s final preparation before the T20I World Cup in Australia, the immediate attention will be on Asia Cup, as the Bangladesh Cricket Board missed the initial squad-naming date, because of multiple players being out through injury, and a sponsorship problem involving Shakib.
Squad: 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
Shakib Al Hasan replaces Nurul Hasan who had taken over the captaincy from Mahmudullah in T20I cricket, but Nurul has been nursing a fractured finger, and yet he has been named in the Asia Cup squad.
Middle-order batsman Sabbir Rahman, who last played a T20I in 2019, has made the cut, while Mushfiqur Rahim also returns after being rested against Zimbabwe. Despite his injury woes, Mohammad Saifuddin has also found a place in Bangladesh’s squad, while Ebadot Hossain has also made the cut.
Litton Das remains the biggest absentee due to his hamstring injury and he isn’t the only name missing from the squad. Here are five players who missed out on Bangladesh’s squad for Asia Cup 2022:
#5 Najmul Hossain Shanto
Despite playing for Bangladesh against Zimbabwe in the recently concluded ODI and T20I series, Shanto failed to convince the selectors with his displays, and he was deemed expendable from the Asia Cup squad.
The 23-year-old made his ODI debut back in 2018, but he has only taken part in 13 matches since then, contributing 189 runs at an average of 14.53, and a strike rate of 61. Elsewhere his T20I stats aren’t much of an improvement either. With his not-so-impressive numbers, Shanto has been snubbed, and understandably so.
#4 Shoriful Islam
Having earned plaudits through his performances with Bangladesh’s World Cup-winning U-19 side in 2020, Shoriful Islam became a pace sensation overnight. Since his debut, the left-arm bowler has played in 14 ODI matches, with 19 wickets to show for it, while he also has 27 scalps in 24 T20Is.
The 21-year-old youngster had a torrid time against Zimbabwe, having conceded 147 runs in the first two ODIs, after which he was dropped for the third match. Earlier, Shoriful remained wicketless while giving away 82 runs in two T20Is against Zimbabwe, which perhaps makes it clear just why he wasn’t included in Bangladesh’s Asia cup squad.
#3 Soumya Sarkar
A key cog in the Bangladeshi juggernaut, Soumya Sarkar is nowhere to be seen these days
Despite having ample experience of representing Bangladesh in 61 ODIs and 66 T20I matches, Soumya Sarkar has had a stunning fall from grace, with his last cap for the Bangla Tigers coming back in the T20I World Cup last year, against Australia.
Sarkar has not played for Bangladesh since then, and even though he can be a handy contributor with the bat, and the ball, he had a torrid time at the World Cup, as he contributed just 27 runs in four matches. The 29-year-old also holds the unwanted record for suffering the joint-second-most ducks in T20I cricket history (10), alongside Tillakaratne Dilshan, Umar Akmal and Paul Sterling.
#2 Rubel Hossain
Often compared to Lasith Malinga for his slingy action and sheer pace, Rubel Hossain’s name struck fear in the minds of batsmen once upon a time, but those days are now long gone. In fact, Hossain last played for Bangladesh in a T20I match against New Zealand in April last year.
He was named in the Bangla Tigers’ squad for the T20I World Cup 2021, albeit he was part of the travelling reserves. With just 28 wickets in 28 caps in the shortest format, the 32-year-old could never quite replicate his deadly exploits of ODI cricket in the T20 format. He will always be remembered as one of the greats in Bangladesh cricket history, just not for his contribution in the shortest format.
#1 Litton Das
Litton Das may be ruled out for up to 4 weeks due to his hamstring issue
If not for his hamstring injury, Litton Das would have been a sure-shot inclusion in the Bangladesh Asia Cup 2022 squad, and the BCB were reportedly willing to wait to see for how long he would be out, which, as per reports, could be a period of up to four weeks.
That again puts Das in contention for the T20I World Cup squad, but he will play no part in the Asia Cup. This comes as a huge blow for Shakib’s side given he has often been billed as the long-term successor to Mushfiqur Rahim.
As per reports, he was given the opportunity to captain Bangladesh during the Zimbabwe assignment, but Das turned down the chance to focus on his batting. This means, Rahim will once again be seen donning the gloves for Bangladesh in the Asia Cup, while Das returns to full fitness.