The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has announced a 15-member squad for the first of the two Tests against Sri Lanka today with pacer Nahid Rana making the way as the only new face.
Since making his first-class debut in November 2021, Rana has taken 63 wickets from 15 matches. Litton Kumer Das returns to the side after missing the last Test series.
"We feel that the squad picked for the first Test has a very nice balance. Our Test side is a fairly settled one with Nahid Rana being the only newcomer. Liton (Kumer Das) is back after missing the last Test series we played as he was on leave. All the departments have backups and have been well covered. I think we have a team that can adapt to the requirements of the conditions," national team selection panel member Abdur Razzak said about Rana's inclusion.
"Rana is a very exciting prospect. He is probably the quickest bowler in Bangladesh at the moment and can also extract steep bounce. Although these are early days for him, his first-class record is quite impressive. There is another young pacer Mushfik Hasan in the squad. This is the right time for these pacers to get the experience as Ebadot (Hossain) is out injured and Taskin (Ahmed) is also not playing Tests at the moment," he added.
"We have a stable Test squad now. Litton's return bolsters the batting as he has the experience and we trust his ability. We also want to back players like Shahadat Hossain Dipu who we think is a batsman for the future," Razzak also said.
The first Test gets underway in Sylhet on March 22 while the second match begins in Chattogram on March 30.
The Tests are a part of the 2023-25 ICC World Test Championship cycle: Squad (1st Test): Najmul Hossain Shanto (Captain), Zakir Hasan, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Shadman Islam, Liton Das, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shahadat Hossain Dipu, Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Nayeem Hasan, Taijul Islam, Shoriful Islam, Syed Khaled Ahmed, Mushfik Hasan and Nahid Rana.
