"I am definitely available" - Mushfiqur Rahim insists he was dropped and not rested for the Pakistan T20 series

Bangladesh keeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim revealed his availability to play the T20 series against Pakistan after the selectors' claimed to have rested him. Mushfiqur Rahim said there is no reason not to play the white-ball leg despite an underwhelming T20 World Cup campaign.

BCB chief selector Minhajul Abedin justified the decision to omit Rahim from the squad, saying the national team has a busy next few months. Abedin admitted the veteran cricketer did not ask for rest; however, they did so after consulting management.

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Mushfiqur Rahim stated he was available for selection and needed an opportunity to perform after a poor World Cup campaign. The 34-year old revealed the collective decision of the management and said, as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo:

"To be honest I haven't reached the stage when I have to tell someone I need rest. I am definitely available. Why won't I be? I obviously had a disappointing World Cup. I needed an opportunity to bounce back. I was asked if I was available, to which I said of course I am available. But I was told that the selection committee, team management, head coach, and team director took a collective decision to drop me."

Bangladesh's winless Super 12 run prompted selectors to revamp the squad. Apart from Rahim, the likes of Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar and Rubel Hossain did not find a place in the 16-member squad that has three uncapped players.

Mushfiqur Rahim registered only one half-century in the 2021 T20 World Cup:

Meanwhile, Rahim only managed a solitary half-century in the T20 World Cup in eight games. The right-handed batsman's only fifty came against Sri Lanka in Bangladesh's first Super 12 game. He scored an unbeaten 37-ball 57 to catapult his side to 171-4 in 20 overs.

However, it ended up in a losing cause as Charith Asalanka's 68* and Bhanuka Rajapaksa's cameo stunned Bangladesh. Mahmudullah and co.'s campaign kept getting worse, including failing to reach triple figures against Australia and South Africa.

Hence, they will look for redemption against Pakistan in the three-match T20 series in Dhaka, beginning on Friday.