Bangladesh gives Mushfiqur Rahim rest for Pakistan T20s

Bangladesch will rest Batsman Mushfiqur Rahim for the three T20I series games against Pakistan, which begins in Dhaka on Friday. Mushfiqur came under fire for his underperformance at the recent T20 World Cup, having scored in eight games for just half a century. Bangladesh had a bleak tournament, losing to Scotland in qualifying and not winning a single game in the Super 12 stage.

They had to make at least six changes in the squad for the upcoming series, with the all-rounders Shakib Al Hasan and Mohammad Saifuddin dropped out due to injury.

The batsmen Liton Das and Soumya Sarkar were deposed for the series against the World Cup semi-finalists and the fast bowler Rubel Hossain. Those recalled to the side include batsman Najmul Hossain Shanto and leg spinner Aminul Islam Biplob.

There were also first T20 drafts for the U19 world champion captain Akbar Ali - a wicketkeeper - the batsmen Saif Hassan and Yasir Ali Chowdhury as well as the pace bowler Shohidul Islam. Mahmudullah Riyad was retained as captain despite the poor World Cup performance.

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The second and third Twenty20 international match against Bangladesh will take place in Dhaka on November 20 and 22. The games will be day-night, with fans returning to the gallery in Bangladesh for the first time since March 2020.

Pakistan will also play two friendly matches during its visit to Bangladesh.

Bangladesh Squad: Mahmudullah Riyad (captain), Mohammad Naim, Najmul Hossain, Afif Hossain, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Mahedi Hasan, Aminul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Shamim Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Saif Ali Hassan, Yahisir Islam , Akbar Ali.