Bangladesh left-handed opener Tamim Iqbal makes his return to the T20I squad for the upcoming 3-match series against Pakistan. Bangladesh squad is without their senior player Mushfiqur Rahim, who refused to tour Pakistan due to personal reasons, and Shakib Al Hasan, who has been banned from all formats of cricket for two years for failing to report corrupt approaches on more than one occasions.
Tamim Iqbal last represented Bangladesh in an ODI in Sri Lanka in July 2019. His last T20I was on December 22 in 2018 against West Indies.
After having an underwhelming run at the World Cup 2019, the 30-year-old took a break from cricket to focus on his fitness and game. He was also not part of Bangladesh’s tour of India to be with his pregnant wife.
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Rubel Hossain has been recalled to the squad for the upcoming T20I series, along with all-rounder Mahedi Hasan, and batsman Najmul Hossain Shanto.
Other than Musfhiqur Rahim, several coaching staff members have also refused to tour Pakistan.
Bangladesh and Pakistan will play the 3 T20Is on January 24, 25, and 27 in Gaddafi Stadium Lahore. After the T20I leg, they will return to Pakistan for the 2nd part of the tour where they will play 1 Test starting from February 7-11. Pakistani player will take part in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) from February 20 to March 22. Bangladesh will then return to Pakistan for a one-off ODI on April 3 and the 2nd Test of the tour which will start from April 5 in National Stadium Karachi.
Bangladesh T20I squad: Mahmudullah (C), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Naim, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Liton Das (WK), Mohammad Mithun (wk), Afif Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Aminul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Al-Amin Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Hasan Mahmud
