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• Last updated on Tue, 19 Jun, 2018, 02:38 PM
”Tushar is scoring consistently in the domestic tournament, so we wanted to provide him with a chance” – Minhajul Abedin © Getty
The Bangladesh Cricket Board included experienced domestic campaigner Tushar Imran in the 15-member squad for the first of three four-day matches, scheduled to start from June 26. The selectors, however, haven’t yet named the captain for the series.
Tushar, who is the only batsman from the country, to score over 10,000 runs in first-class cricket, played just five Tests and 41 ODIs in five years since making his international debut in 2002 before being dumped from the set-up. However, after a long time, the veteran batsman has made a comeback into the national reckoning, at the age of 34.
”He is scoring consistently in the domestic tournament, so we wanted to provide him with a chance to see where he stands against international opponents,” chief selector Minhajul Abedin told Cricbuzz
”If he is able to perform, naturally, we will think of him in a broader perspective but it is also a fact that everyone who scores heavily in the domestic tournament isn’t successful in the international arena. Let’s see where he stands in the series against the Sri Lanka A team,” he added.
Sabbir Rahman and Mosaddek Hossain, who were axed from the Test squad that is set to tour West Indies this month, were also included. The surprise call-up in the squad was that of the young legspinner Rishad Ahmed. The legspinner is a current member of Bangladesh’s Under-19 team as well as the High Performance Unit. Jubair Hossain’s lack of success has perhaps opened the doors for another legspinner to come into the fray.
“We have been watching Rishad since he played at the age levels. He is also in our High Performance Unit, and as we are looking for a good legspinner for a long time, we wanted to give him a try,” said Minhajul.
The first of the three four-day matches will start on June 26 at the Sheikh Kamal International Cricket Stadium, while the second game will take place at the same venue from July 3. The third and final match of the series will be played at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium from July 10. The four-day games will be followed by three List A matches, scheduled to be played on July 17, 19 and 22 respectively in Sylhet.
Bangladesh A squad: Shadman Islam, Soumya Sarkar, Mizanur Rahman, Afif Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Mohammad Saifuddin, Naeem Hasan, Rishad Ahmed, Saif Hasan, Zakir Hossain, Tushar Imran, Nazmul Islam, Abu Hider Rony, Mosaddek Hossain
