PAK vs BAN | Tamim Iqbal, Rubel Hossain back in T20Is squad for Pakistan tour

PAK vs BAN | Tamim Iqbal, Rubel Hossain back in T20Is squad for Pakistan tour

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Bangladesh has recalled senior players Tamim Iqbal and Rubel Hossain for the T20I side that will tour Pakistan for three matches, starting from January 24. The Bangladesh selectors have also decided to reward 20-year-old pacer Hasan Mahmud with a maiden call-up largely because of his pace. 

Neither Tamim, nor Rubel has played any T20I cricket in the whole of 2019, but chief selector Minhajul Abedin has confirmed that the duo will make the flight to Pakistan. Tamim, who did feature in last year's World Cup, was forced to take a break from the game given in that tournament. Rubel also has been on a long break from T20I cricket, with his last international game in the format coming way back in August 2018 against West Indies in Florida.

"There was an injury concern of Tamim but he was cleared and we are delighted to have him back as we need some senior guys in the team to lead from considering some of our senior members are missing. As for Rubel he is in and out of the national team for the last one year but looked to be bowling consistently in one area in the BPL and we preferred him over others as he got the experience that might be essential to doing well in Pakistan," Abedin told Cricbuzz. 

Young Mahmud, meanwhile, has only played 13 T20 games, with his stats reading 10 wickets at an average of 37.9 and an economy rate over nine. The 20-year-old, however, has found success in first-class cricket (24 wickets from nine games) and List A cricket (19 wickets from 15 matches), but Abedin confirmed that he has been picked for his pace.

"Hasan is the quickest bowler for us at the moment and we included him just seeing his raw pace. We feel if he is nurtured in the national dressing room it will not take him long to make him capable of dealing with the pressure of international cricket,” Abedin added.

The three-part tour will kick off with a T20I on January 24 while the second and third games will be held on January 25 and 27 respectively — all three games will be in Lahore. 

Squad for T20I series against Pakistan: Mahmudullah (c), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Moammad Naim, Najmul Hossain, Litton Das, Mohammad Mithun, Afif Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Aminul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Al-Amin Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Hasan Mahmud.

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