Bangladesh announce squad for New Zealand series, Mushfiqur Rahim returns

Bangladesh have announced the squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand. Wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim and Liton Das, who missed out against Australia, return to the side.  Additionally, leg spinner Aminul Islam has also been included in the 19-man squad. Islam has played seven T20Is for Bangladesh, picking up 10 wickets in the process. The rest of the squad remains the same that took on Australia in the last series.  

While Rahim has made his return to the side, Tamim Iqbal continues to be on the sidelines due to a knee injury. The southpaw was already expected to miss the fixtures against Australia and New Zealand.

The ‘Tigers’ will be high on confidence after picking up a crushing 4-1 win over Australia. They will be looking to replicate their performance against New Zealand as well. The visitors will be without their big guns who have preferred IPL over the T20I series. New Zealand thus have named a second-string side, led by Tom Latham, for the series. Given the way Australians struggled against Bangladesh, New Zealand will be in for a hard time in the series. The five T20Is will be the final opportunity for Bangladesh to fix their jigsaw before the T20 World Cup in the UAE.

Bangladesh T20I squad for NZ series: Mahmudullah (C), Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das, Mosaddek Hossain, Afif Hossain, Mohammad Naim, Nurul Hasan, Shamim Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Mohammad Saifuddin, Shoriful Islam, Taijul Islam, Mahedi Hasan, Aminul Islam, Nasum Ahmed.