Saif Uddin has been picked in place of Taskin, while Mahidul—who comes in for Shamim—has also not been in great form recently.
Taskin Ahmed has been Bangladesh’s most successful T20I pacer this year, and Shamim Hossain is considered one of the team’s most effective lower-order hitters. Yet neither of them has been included in the squad for the first two T20Is against Ireland. Chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain has now explained why.
Taskin has taken 24 wickets in 13 T20Is for Bangladesh this year, though his economy rate has been on the higher side at 9 runs per over.
He is currently busy playing in the Abu Dhabi T10 League for the Northern Warriors. Initially, his NOC (no objection certificate) was valid until Sunday, which meant he was eligible for selection for the Ireland series. But after the squad announcement, it was revealed that his NOC period has been extended.
The chief selector told bdnews24.com that Taskin will finish the T10 tournament and then take part in the ILT20 as well.
“Taskin asked us for an NOC to play two leagues. Players are allowed to participate in foreign franchise leagues each year under certain conditions. Based on those rules, he was given permission to play.”
“Even though he has been advised to take rest, the BPL is also coming up and Taskin will play there as well. After discussions with the coach and captain, we decided this. His absence won’t hurt us at the moment. For now, we’ve picked Saif Uddin as Taskin’s replacement.”
Another national selector, Hasibul Hossain, said that Shamim Hossain was excluded due to his recent performances. In the last series against the West Indies, he scored only 2 runs across two matches. Before that, he made 33 off 22 against Afghanistan in one match but scored zero in the other two.
Mahidul Islam Ankon has been picked in the squad instead. However, there is some uncertainty about the role he will play. Shamim usually features as a finisher. Mahidul did impress as a finisher in a few matches during the last BPL, but he is primarily a middle-order batter and sometimes plays in the top order.
According to the chief selector, Mahidul is being considered strictly for the middle order, and Saif Uddin might take on the finisher’s role.
“Shamim Hossain is not in the squad from the XI that played the last match of the West Indies series in Chattogram. His last five innings read 1, 1, 0, 33, 0. If a player cannot be fitted into the XI, it doesn’t disrupt the team balance too much. We want to try Saif Uddin at number seven.”
“Neither Sohan nor Zakir Ali looks fully comfortable at four or five. We need to prepare someone for those positions. If we don’t play Ankon in this series, and later there’s suddenly an injury, we may need him as an option. If not now, then when will we give him a chance?”
Mahidul’s recent form, however, doesn’t inspire much confidence. He is currently playing for Bangladesh A in the ACC Rising Stars Tournament in Doha, and before the final, his scores in three innings are 27* off 30, 8, and 1.
Last month, in the National Cricket League T20s, he failed to score a fifty in five innings, finishing with 118 runs at an average of 23.60 and a strike rate of 116.83. In August, playing for Bangladesh A in the Top End T20 Series in Australia, he scored only 19 runs in three innings.
His overall T20 record is also not impressive—just two fifties in 83 games. His standout performance came in the last BPL, where he scored 316 runs for Khulna Tigers at a strike rate of nearly 175. But even there, most of his impact came from playing as a finisher.
