Bangladesh have named their squad for the opening leg of their T20I series against New Zealand, deciding to rest their frontline fast bowlers Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, and Nahid Rana for the first two matches in Chattogram. Instead, Bangladesh have brought in Ripon Mondol and uncapped pacer Abdul Gaffar Saqlain, who have earned their call-ups on the back of strong domestic performances.
Ripon Mondol, who has already had a brief taste of international cricket during the Asian Games 2023, has been a reliable figure. Most recently, he showcased his wicket-taking prowess in the Bangladesh Cricket League one-day tournament, where he finished among the leading bowlers with eight wickets.
Meanwhile, Abdul Gaffar Saqlain brings the consolidation with both bat and ball. The first two T20Is are scheduled for April 27 and 29 in Chattogram. After the first two games, the series will then move to Dhaka for the third and final match on May 2.
"Ripon Mondol has been doing well for quite some time. We can utilise his ability with the new ball and his death bowling has also been quite noticeable. Saqlain could be our bowling allrounder option. He has also shown good form recently,” the chairman of selection panel Habibul Bashar said.
Bangladesh T20I squad for first two matches: Litton Kumer Das (c), Mohammed Parvez Hossain Emon, Tanzid Hasan, Mohammed Saif Hassan (vc), Shamim Hossain, Tawhid Hridoy, Quazi Nurul Hasan Sohan, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Rishad Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Ripon Mondol, Shaif Uddin, Abdul Gaffar Saqlain.