Bangladesh appoints Litton as T20 captain until World Cup as Shanto retains spot

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has put Litton Das in charge of the T20 team until the next World Cup while Najmul Hossain Shanto retained his place in the team despite faring poorly in the shortest form of the game.

Sheikh Mehedi Hasan has been appointed the vice-captain of the team for the upcoming series against the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan, while fast bowler Nahid Rana is expected to make his debut in the T20 game.

Shanto’s ability to bat in the 20-over game has been under scrutiny. He scored 56 runs in five games for Fortune Barishal in the Bangladesh Premier League. In T20 Internationals, he made 960 runs in 49 matches at 22.85 a game with a subpar strike rate of 108.35.

Chief Selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain, however, banked on Shanto’s experience as the reason to keep him in the team.

Litton stood in as captain replacing Shanto in Bangladesh’s last T20 series as the regular skipper was out with an injury. The Tigers won the series 3-0 away at the West Indies.

Litton himself, however, has been going through a rough patch with the bat, struggling to find form and consistency. He scored a measly 17 runs in three games in the Caribbean Islands, and has only one fifty to his name in his last 24 innings.

Apart from Shanti, Towhid Hridoy, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanvir Islam and Shariful Islam also returned to the fold.

Those who were dropped include Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Afif Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, and Ripon Mondol.

Bangladesh will play against the UAE in a two-match series in Sharjah on May 17 and 19, before flying to Pakistan for a five-game series as part of their campaign before the T20 World Cup next year.

Squad:

Litton Das (captain), Sheikh Mehedi Hasan, Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain, Soumya Sarker, Nazmul Hossain, Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Jaker Ali, Rishad Hossain, Tanvir Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Tanzim Hasan, Nahid Rana and Shariful Islam.