Taskin Ahmed was ruled out due to an injury while Tanzim Hasan got his maiden Test call-up as the Bangladesh Cricket Board announced the squad for the first Test against Zimbabwe on Tuesday.
The first Test starts at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on April 20, followed by the second Test at the Bir Shrestha Flight Lieutenant Motiur Rahman Stadium (formerly known as Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium) from April 28 to May 2 in Chattogram.
According to BCB鈥檚 senior physician Debashish Chowdhury, Taskin, who has been spearheading the fast bowling department recently, has been undergoing rehabilitation for a left Achilles tendon issue and thus will not be available for the two-match series.
Tanzim, who has already played 28 internationals for Bangladesh, has had 25 first-class wickets from 16 matches.
Gazi Ashraf Hossain, the chief of the national selection panel, mentioned Tanzim as a promising talent.
鈥楬e has that longing to do well and has already shown the potential in white-ball cricket,鈥� Ashraf said.
鈥楬e has pace and wicket-taking ability; that鈥檚 why he was selected.鈥�
Regular captain Najmul Hossain Shanto and veteran batter Mushfiqur Rahim returned to the Test fold after missing the last series against the West Indies in November-December last year due to injuries.
Pacer Khaled Ahmed and off-spinner Nayeem Hasan also returned to the squad, while batter Shahadat Hossain, pacer Shoriful Islam, and spinner Hasan Murad were dropped.
Apart from Taskin, Liton Das will also miss the series, as he will play for Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League upon receiving the No Objection Certificate from the BCB.
Ashraf thinks that filling Liton鈥檚 boot will be challenging, but they have alternatives in the squad. In the South Africa series, wicket-keeper batter Mahidul Islam kept the wicket while Liton was missing the second Test in Chattogram in October.
Pace sensation Nahid Rana was named in the squad but would be released after the first Test to play in the PSL.
Meanwhile, pacer Ebadot Hossain will have to wait longer to return to the national side after last playing in July 2023.
The 31-year-old has recently returned to competitive cricket after a long injury, but, according to Ashraf, he was still under observation.
Hasan Mahmud will fill up the pace battery in the squad, while the selectors choose Nayeem as the backup for Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taijul Islam.
Though the opponent might be relatively weaker, the selection panel didn鈥檛 want to experiment.
鈥榃e will return to the Test format after almost four and a half months. We will have a Test series against Sri Lanka in June. That鈥檚 why we don鈥檛 want to do experiments,鈥� explained Ashraf.
鈥榃e have to consider one other thing: we didn鈥檛 do well against Sri Lanka last year. The result against South Africa wasn鈥檛 expected at all either,鈥� he added.
鈥榃e got the most memorable performance in Pakistan and won a Test in the West Indies. [But] we are worried about our performances at home for the last year or so. 鈥楾hat鈥檚 why we are trying to play with the best possible team against Zimbabwe.鈥�
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Squad
Najmul Hossain Shanto (captain), Mahmudul Hasan, Shadman Islam, Zakir Hasan, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahidul Islam, Jaker Ali, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (vice-captain), Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Nahid Rana, Hasan Mahmud, Khaled Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan
