Bangladesh on Tuesday announced their 15-man squad for the ODI World Cup in India, with former captain Tamim Iqbal left out due to injury problems. The 34-year-old Tamim, who made a shock retirement in July before reversing his decision a day later at the request of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, only returned to the squad last week for the first two matches of the just-concluded home series against New York. Zealand. Tamim has established himself as one of the country’s most reliable players and is the only Bangladeshi to score centuries in all three formats of the game.
But he took a break from Tuesday’s final match which Bangladesh lost by seven wickets in Dhaka, reportedly refusing to give a guarantee for his participation in all matches at the World Cup.
Top-selling Bangladeshi newspaper Prothom Al reported on Tuesday that coach Chandika Hathurusinghe and captain Shakib Al Hasan said only fully fit players could be in the World Cup squad, leading to Tamim’s exclusion.
“Tamim Iqbal has been struggling with injuries for a long time, we know that,” said chief selector Mihajul Abedin.
“He fought it and got fit again in the run-up to the New Zealand series. But after the first match he complained of injury again.”
New Zealand whitewashed Bangladesh to win the three-match series 2-0.
Batsman Najmul Hossain Shanto, who made his debut as captain during the series against the Kiwis, has been named vice-captain for the World Cup.
The Bangladesh team travels to Guwahati on Wednesday for two warm-up matches against Sri Lanka on September 29 and England on October 2 before the World Cup starts on October 5.
The team will then move to Dharamshala for their tournament opener against Afghanistan on October 7.
Squad: Shakib Al Hasan (Captain), Liton Das, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Najmul Hossain Shanto (Vice-Captain), Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib.
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