Sheikh Mehedi Hasan named vice-captain of the T20 squad; Mehidy Hasan Miraz misses out
Sheikh Mehedi Hasan has been appointed vice-captain of the T20 squad, while Mehidy Hasan Miraz has not been included in the team.
Liton Kumar Das, who served as the stand-in captain during the last series, is now officially the long-term captain of the Bangladesh T20 team. The experienced wicketkeeper-batter has been named captain by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) until the upcoming T20 World Cup. Sheikh Mehedi Hasan has been named vice-captain, but only for the upcoming tour.
Although he is no longer in a leadership role, Najmul Hossain Shanto has retained his spot in the squads for both the UAE and Pakistan tours. Five players from the last series have been dropped from the 16-member squad, while six new players have been added. Fast bowler Nahid Rana has received his maiden call-up to the T20 team.
Shanto’s T20 performance has been consistently underwhelming, and his capability in this format has been questioned. In the last BPL, playing for Fortune Barishal, he scored just 56 runs in 5 innings and was subsequently dropped from the national team. In international T20s, he has scored 960 runs in 49 matches at an average of 22.85 with a strike rate of just 108.35. Despite this, Chief Selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain stated that Shanto has been retained for his experience.
As Shanto’s performance continued to draw criticism, he himself reportedly told BCB President Faruque Ahmed that he no longer wished to continue as captain in the T20 format. Speculation around Liton becoming the new captain had already been growing. When Shanto was sidelined due to injury in the last T20 series, Liton stepped in and led the team to a 3-0 series win.
However, Liton’s own form has also been disappointing. He scored only 17 runs in three innings in the last series. In his last 24 T20 innings, he has managed just one fifty.
Along with Shanto, the squad sees the return of Towhid Hridoy, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanvir Islam, and Shoriful Islam. Hridoy missed the West Indies series due to injury, while Mustafizur was unavailable for family reasons.
Among the dropped players, the most notable name is Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Others who lost their places include Afif Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, and Ripon Mondol. During the squad announcement, selector Abdur Razzak mentioned that Ripon was included in the last series purely for experience—not to play.
Bangladesh will play a two-match T20 series against the UAE on May 17 and 19 in Sharjah. The team will then travel to Pakistan for a five-match T20 series starting May 25.
Bangladesh T20 Squad
Liton Kumar Das (Captain), Sheikh Mehedi Hasan, Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain, Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Zakir Ali, Rishad Hossain, Tanvir Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Tanzim Hasan, Nahid Rana, and Shoriful Islam.
Dropped
Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Afif Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Ripon Mondol
Injured
Taskin Ahmed
New Inclusion
Nahid Rana
Returning
Towhid Hridoy, Tanvir Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Najmul Hossain Shanto
