Veteran opening batter Tamim Iqbal has been excluded from Bangladesh's 15-man squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced the squad for the ICC flagship event on Tuesday.
Shakib Al Hasan will lead the team in the World Cup, with Najmul Hossain Shanto as his deputy. Consequently, Litton Das has been relieved of his vice-captaincy.
Veteran Tamim Iqbal has not secured a spot in Bangladesh's World Cup squad, in a move that is certain to polarise opinions throughout the country. The left-handed opener, Bangladesh's highest run-scorer in international cricket across all three formats, has been grappling with a back injury, and didn't look fully convincing in the one complete outing he had in the just-concluded ODI series against New Zealand.
Ultimately it has ruled him out of the tournament set to commence early next month in India. Fans will recall his dramatic retirement from all forms of the game earlier hardly three months ago, that he was forced to revoke in the space of 24 hours with the intervention of the prime minister herself - partly in view of the World Cup being so near.
Another veteran however, assuredly booked himself a ticket to India by presenting his calming presence in the middle during the New Zealand series, as batsmen kept committing harikiri all round him - Mahmudullah Riyad.
Riyad, whose career looked to be over at more than one point as selectors could never make their minds up on his role, will get another shot at glory as a mainstay of the middle-order alongside his brother in law Mushfiqur Rahim. Both however have shown indifferent form in the lead up to the big event.
Right-arm pacer Tanzim Hasan Sakib has also been added to the squad. Along with him, Bangladesh announced a five-member pace-attack in this World Cup under the guidance of South African legend Alan Donald. Sakib is joined by Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud and the two left-armers - Mustafizur Rahman and Hasan Mahmud.
Who might open?
In the absence of Tamim, the obvious uestion would be who will take his place at the top of the batting order partnering Litton Das. From what has been tried till now, the two options would look to be trying youngster Tanzid Hasan Tamim, who opened in the 3rd ODI against the Kiwis, or promoting all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz up the order again, who has had some notable success in that position in limited overs cricket.
Although Tanzid was tried, he failed to impress batting in the top order during the NZ series, including today as opener, scoring just 5. As things stand, the Miraz option might be most attractive.
Vice captain Shanto, the team's in form batter, will hold down his favourite no.3 position in the order.
Key figures of the Bangladesh cricket team held a late-night meeting at the residence of Nazmul Hasan, the board president, to deliberate on Tamim's inclusion in the World Cup.
BCB sources confirmed that captain Shakib Al Hasan and head coach Chandika Hathurusingha were present in the meeting with Nazmul. They expressed reservations about including Tamim in the World Cup due to concerns regarding his injuries.
In a sudden turn of events, Tamim’s elder brother, Nafis Iqbal, who served as the operational manager even in the third ODI between Bangladesh and New Zealand, was abruptly removed from his position.
This year’s World Cup features a total of 10 teams. Aside from Bangladesh, only Sri Lanka had been awaiting the official squad announcement until Tuesday.
Bangladesh World Cup 2023 squad: Shakib Al Hasan (Captain), Litton Das, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Najmul Hossain Shanto (Vice Captain), Tawhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib
