Bangladesh has finally announced its squad for the ICC Champions Trophy, which includes two notable surprises. Both Liton Das and Shoriful Islam have been left out of the squad.
A day earlier, Tamim Iqbal had voluntarily withdrawn from the tournament, while Shakib Al Hasan faced a significant hurdle due to his illegal bowling action. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chose not to include Shakib solely as a batter. These decisions were anticipated and, therefore, didn’t come as shocks.
The unexpected exclusions were those of Liton Das and Shoriful Islam. Over the past year, Liton’s batting form has been disappointing. In white-ball cricket, he has managed just one fifty, which has also been criticized. In a crucial match against Afghanistan, despite batting throughout the innings, Liton couldn’t secure a win, leading to Bangladesh’s exit from semifinal contention.
The Champions Trophy will be played in the ODI format, where Liton’s performance has been even worse. In his last five innings, he has scored a total of just six runs. Although he played an impressive 73-run innings in his most recent BPL match, his preceding three innings all ended in single-digit scores. This poor run led the selectors to lose faith in him. Consequently, Parvez Hossain Emon, who has played seven T20Is but no ODIs, has been included in the squad in his place.
Similarly, Shoriful Islam has also been dropped due to poor form. Over the past year, his average in white-ball cricket has exceeded 40. Despite the pace unit performing well, Shoriful has struggled to make an impact, leading to his exclusion. Nahid Rana has been named as his replacement. Additionally, Hasan Mahmud has also been left out of the squad.
The 15-member Bangladesh squad includes four pacers and three spinners. The pacers are Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Nahid Rana, and Tanzim Hasan Sakib. The spinners are Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, and Rishad Hossain.
Bangladesh’s Champions Trophy Squad: Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Zakir Ali Anik, Towhid Hridoy, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Parvez Hossain Emon, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mustafizur Rahman, Nahid Rana, and Taskin Ahmed.
