Bangladesh name 20-man squad for New Zealand tour, Tamim Iqbal to lead the side
Bangladesh recently named a 20-man squad for the upcoming ODI and T20I series against New Zealand. Star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan missed out while fast bowler Al-Amin Hossain and batsman Mosaddek Hossain were recalled to the side.
Tamim Iqbal will lead the team in both ODIs and T20Is. The 3-match ODI series will be part of the Cricket World Cup Super League and will be followed by a 3-match T20I series.
Shakib Al Hasan was left out after he was granted paternity leave to be with his wife in the United States. Left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed, who is yet to make his debut for Bangladesh, made the cut.
Mosaddek Hossain's recall raised some eyebrows as he last played for Bangladesh in a T20 game against Zimbabwe in 2019. Chief selector Minhajul Abedin explained the decision and said:
"Since Shakib is not available, we brought Mosaddek as he is also an all-rounder and an experienced player. "We picked Nasum for the same reason. He did well in domestic limited over matches. He came ahead of Taijul Islam, who we want now to focus more on Test cricket."
The Bangladesh team will leave for Dhaka on February 23 and will go through the mandatory quarantine in New Zealand. The ODI series begins on March 20 in Dunedin and the final T20I will be played on April 1.
As expected, Bangladesh have named a large contingent as players cannot be replaced at the last moment due to mandatory quarantine norms.
Bangladesh's record against New Zealand in white-ball format
The Kiwis and Bangladesh have squared off 35 times in the 50-over format, with New Zealand holding a superior head-to-head record, winning 25 of those encounters. Bangladesh, meanwhile, have won 10 games. However, all of their 10 wins have come in home conditions. The team is yet to win an ODI on New Zealand soil.
The Blackcaps have been even more dominant in T20I, winning all of their 7 encounters against Bangladesh.