West Indies tour of Bangladesh: Shakib named in preliminary squads
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), on Monday, announced the preliminary squads for the upcoming home leg against West Indies. All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has been included in both Test and ODI squads. This marks his return to international cricket after a year-long ban. Notably, former skipper Mashrafe Mortaza has been left out of the 24-man ODI squad. Here are further details.
The ban of Shakib ended in October 2020
Shakib's one-year ban for not reporting a corrupt approach ended in October last year. The International Cricket Council (ICC) had banned him from all cricket for two years (with one-year suspension) after he accepted three charges of breaching the ICC Anti-Corruption Code. Notably, the breach was reported after he failed to disclose corrupt approaches in relation to three games.
Mortaza gets dropped for the first time
It is interesting to note that Bangladesh's highest wicket-taker in ODI cricket and the longest-serving captain, Mortaza, has missed out on selection. This is the first time since his debut (2001) that Mortaza has been dropped from the ODI squad. Although the 37-year-old has missed a number of games due to injuries, he has never been left out.
The exclusion of Mortaza comes at a crucial time
The decision on Mortaza has been taken at a time when Bangladesh build toward the 2023 ODI World Cup. Interestingly, he racked up a five-wicket haul in the Bangabandhu T20 Cup last month, playing for Gemcon Khulna.
The decision on Mortaza was mutual: Abedin
Explaining Mortaza's exclusion, chief selector Minhajul Abedin said, "We respect him, he's done a lot for the country. I've spoken to him, there's not going to be any misunderstanding. It was a tough decision, but we have to consider reality, and keep looking forward." "We took a combined decision after long discussions with management, and considering everything [decided to] to put off Mashrafe."
Bangladesh's preliminary squad (ODIs)
Squad: Tamim Iqbal (captain), Momimul Haque, Taskin Ahmed, Khaled Ahmed, Shakib Al Hasan, Hasan Mahmud, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mustafizur Rahman, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Mohammad Mithun, Taijul Islam, Liton Das, Nurul Hasan, Yasir Ali, Shadman Islam, Saif Hassan, Nayeem Hasan, Abu Jayed, Ebadot Hossain
Bangladesh's preliminary squad (Tests)
Squad: Momimul Haque, Taskin Ahmed, Tamim Iqbal, Khaled Ahmed, Shakib Al Hasan, Hasan Mahmud, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mustafizur Rahman, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Mohammad Mithun, Taijul Islam, Liton Das, Nurul Hasan, Yasir Ali, Shadman Islam, Saif Hassan, Nayeem Hasan, Abu Jayed, Ebadot Hossain
A look at the schedule
This is going to be Bangladesh's first international assignment since the COVID-enforced break (mid-March). The two sides will compete in three ODIs on January 20, 22, and 25. After that, the two-Test series will be played in Chittagong and Dhaka from February 3 and 11 respectively. Notably, WI last toured Bangladesh in 2018 when they lost the Test and ODI series.
