On Saturday, November 18, the Bangladesh National Cricket Team announced their squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against the New Zealand National Cricket Team.
The matches between the Bangla Tigers and the Black Caps are set to be hosted in Sylhet and Dhaka. The first Test will be played from November 28 to December 2 at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium and the second match will be played from December 6 to 10 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
The Bangladesh National Cricket Team squad will be led by Najmul Hossain Shanto in the absence of several key players. Also, three uncapped players have been included in the team namely Hasan Murad, Shahadat Hossain Dipu, and Hasan Mahmud.
The left-arm spinner Hasan Murad has been highly impressive in the domestic circuit as he has bagged 121 wickets in 25 first-class matches since his debut for Chattogram Division in 2021. Also, top-order batter Shahadat Hossain Dipu and right-arm pacer Hasan Mahmud have been doing well for a while.
Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das To Miss Bangladesh vs New Zealand Test Series
The veteran all-rounder and Test captain, Shakib Al Hasan, will miss the Test series due to the finger injury he sustained during the World Cup while Litton Das has decided to skip the matches to be with his family.
“He(Litton) wanted leave for leave for one months and didn’t want to play two Tests as he wanted to give time to his family. We have granted it because we cannot push any player to play,” said Jalal Yunus, as quoted by Cricbuzz.
“We wanted him to play the second Test but he insisted that he wants to give time to his family for one month. He wanted to be with his newborn baby and her mother and as he insisted for several times. We approved his plea,” Yunus said
“If some cricketer doesn’t want to play, in that case you cannot put him in the national team because the professionalism need to come from the heart that ‘I want to play for my country’ and he must know whether he is available or not,” he added.
The other notable names who will miss the series are Tamim Iqbal, Ebadot Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, and Mushfik Hasan. Meanwhile, Najmul Hossain Shanto will become the 13th cricketer to lead Bangladesh in the purest format of the game.
Bangladesh Squad For New Zealand Tests:
Najmul Hossain Shanto (Captain), Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque , Mushfiqur Rahim, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Naeem Hasan, Syed Khaled Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Shahadat Hossain Dipu, Hasan Murad.
New Zealand National Cricket Team have also announced their squad for the Test series and they recently made a major change to their side. Pacer Matt Henry, who sustained an injury during the World Cup, won’t be able to recover in time for the Test series and hence, he has been replaced by veteran seamer Neil Wagner.
New Zealand Test Squad For The Series:
Tim Southee (c), Tom Blundell (wk), Devon Conway, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Neil Wagner, Kane Williamson, Will Young
