Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) have announced their 15-member squad for the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023, as the senior and most experienced player Tamim Iqbal has been left out due to a back injury.
Tamim had informed the selectors earlier about his persistent injury.
The rest of the squad looks as predictable as the Asia Cup squad. Skipper Shakib Al Hasan will continue to lead the side, while Najmul Hossain Shanto was elevated to vice-captaincy.
Tamim announced his decision to step down as the Bangladesh ODI team captain after a back injury had ruled him out of the Asia Cup 2023. However, he regained fitness ahead of the World Cup but is no longer a part of the squad for the tournament.
He is their leading run-scorer in ODIs and led the current side to an automatic spot at the World Cup. But after a series of injuries and allegations of unprofessionalism from BCB president Nazmul Hassan, Tamim retired from International cricket on 6 July.
Furthermore, pacer Ebadot Hossain has failed to recover in time for the World Cup. He had sustained a knee injury during the ODI series against Afghanistan in July and underwent knee surgery on 30 August.
Despite Tamim’s absence from the squad, Bangladesh's batting strength lies on the experienced shoulders of Mushfiqur Rahim, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Litton Das, and Shakib Al Hasan.
The core strength, Spin continues to remain rock solid, featuring an exceptional set of finger spinners in Shakib, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, and Mahedi Hasan.
And despite the loss of Ebadot, the pace bowling has enough skill to cause troubles in the opposition ranks. The pace attack includes Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman, and Tanzim Hasan.
The team will play two World Cup warm-up fixtures at Guwahati against Sri Lanka and England respectively. They will open their World Cup campaign against Afghanistan at Dharamshala on 7 October.
Squad: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Litton Das (wk), Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Najmul Hossain Shanto (vc), Tawhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib
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