Bangladesh Cricket Team 15-Man Squad For T20 World Cup 2022

After leaving the recent Asia Cup 2022 tournament winless, Bangladesh has announced a T20 World Cup 2022 squad rife with significant changes.

The 15-man squad features a total of five new faces to the group that crashed out of the Asia Cup 2022 following defeats to Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. Notably, veteran allrounder Mahmudullah has been excluded from the side, signaling an end to his 15-year-long T20I career with Bangladesh. Mushfiqur Rahim has also played his last for Bangladesh, retiring after the Asia Cup.

Other changes are the omission of Mohammad Naim, Mahedi Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon and Anamul Haque, who all fail to retain their places after poor performances recently. Litton Das receives a call-up, alongside Najmul Hossain Shanto, Yasir Ali, Hasan Mahmud and Nurul Hasan in what’s being called, “a team for the future” by Bangladesh’s BCB president.

Below we cover Bangladesh’s full squad, and break down each selection in detail based on position.

Bangladesh full squad for the 2022 T20 World Cup

Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Sabbir Rahman, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Afif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Litton Das, Yasir Ali, Nurul Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Mohammad Saifuddin, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Nasum Ahmed and Najmul Hossain Shanto.

Batsmen – Young Line Up Built Around Rahman

Given Bangladesh’s wealth of all-rounders and batting wicket keepers, the team is only taking three specialist batsmen to Australia as part of their 15-man squad.

Bangladesh are taking the following specialist batsmen to the T20 World Cup in October:

There’s no doubt that this batting lineup is lacking in experience, with Sabbir Rahman being the only batters with close to 1000 T20I runs. Rahman’s experience will be crucial as the Bangladeshi lineup will be built around him, as the 30-year-old has eight years experience playing T20Is for his country. However, Rahman is going through a lean patch, only batting once this year for five runs. He will be looking to rekindle his form of 2016, when the batsman scored half his career runs.

Yasir Ali and Najmul Hossain Shanto receive call-ups into the squad, and are very much green at this level. Ali has one T20I to his name, earlier this year against Afghanistan where he only managed eight runs. However, the 26-year-old does have ODI and Test match half centuries, and has played internationally since 2019. Shanto has a little more experience, with nine T20Is for 148 runs across his career. This year he played in the Zimbabwe tour, making 72 runs across the three matches before failing to be selected for the Asia Cup.

Overall stats for Bangladesh Players in T20Is - Batsmen

All Rounders – Loss of Experience But Plenty of Talent

The retirement of Mushfiqur Rahim and omission of Mahmudullah have hit Bangladesh hardest in the allrounder area, with both men bringing the better part of 15 years experience.

However, plenty of talent still exists in the Bangladeshi side, with five allrounders selected:

Captain Shakib Al Hasan leads the charge, the experienced veteran now at 35 years old. With 2045 T20I runs and 122 wickets at an economy of 6.67, Hasan is a world-class allrounder. Last year was a strong season for the captain with the ball, taking 25 wickets in 18 matches at 6.05, however he has slowed up this year. With the bat, Hasan has 151 runs in 2022 from his seven matches at a strike rate of 123.77. In the absence of Rahim and Mahmudullah, look for Hasan to step up and lead from the front even more than usual.

Joining Hasan will be Mosaddek Hossain, who doesn’t have quite as much experience, but has still been around since 2016. The middle order batter has 310 runs at a strike rate of 120.62 in his T20I career, and has played seven matches so far this year for 110 runs at a healthy strike rate of 161.76. He’s also been known to nab a wicket or two, with nine scalps already in 2022.

Rounding out the allrounder department are Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mohammad Saifuddin and Afif Hossain. Miraz is the least experienced, with the 24-year-old only being selected once this year, for the first time since 2018. The allrounder has four wickets and 132 runs from 14 T20Is, and will be looking to solidify his place in the Bangladesh team this World Cup.

Hossain joins the side as a batting allrounder, with 749 runs at this level since his debut in 2018. The 22-year-old has played ten matches this year for 246 runs, backing up a good year last year that saw him play 27 matches and score 390 runs. With the ball, Hossain is a rarely used option, having only bowled three overs this year, but his eight career wickets show he is useful if need be.

Saifudden, on the other hand, has 32 wickets at an economy of 8.36 from his 30 T20Is. With only one match this year, the 25-year-old will also be eager to perform and solidify his starting position.

Overall stats for Bangladesh Players in T20Is - All-Rounders

Wicketkeepers – Return of Das a Boost for Bangladesh

The return of experienced wicketkeeper Litton Das from injury has significantly boosted Bangladesh’s wicketkeeping and batting stocks.

Bangladesh has selected two wicketkeeping options for this year’s T20I World Cup:

Das, while having only played for Bangladesh eight times this year, is the incumbent keeper for the side. His 1081 T20I runs, to go with 2112 Test runs and almost 2000 ODI runs testify to the world-class batting ability of the 27-year-old. Having scored 237 runs at a strike rate of 138.59 already this year, Das will be a critical anchor in Bangladesh’s batting lineup.

Nurul Hasan has filled in while Das has been off injured, playing five times in T20Is this year. With 76 runs and a high score of 42 not out he is a solid replacement, without being at the same level of class as Das. Hasan has been the secondary keeper since 2016, with a total of 35 T20I caps.

Overall stats for Bangladesh Players in T20Is - Wicket Keepers

Bowlers – Experienced Ahmed and Rahman Spearhead Attack

Two experienced fast bowlers staying fit and healthy will be key for Bangladesh, as Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman bring the majority of the side’s bowling experience.

Here are the five specialist bowlers Bangladesh have selected in their squad for the 2022 T20 World Cup:

With 117 T20I wickets between them, Rahman and Ahmed will spearhead the fast bowling attack for Bangladesh. Both men have been regulars the past seven or eight years for their country at this level, and are coming off strong performances last year.

Supporting the two strike bowlers will be Ebadot Hossain, Hasan Mahmud and Nasum Ahmed. Both Hossain and Mahmud are fresh stocks in the Bangladeshi team, with 22-year-old Mahmud debuting in 2020 and having only played three matches. Hossain is even greener, having earnt a debut in Bangladesh’s latest T20I, taking 3/51 in their loss to Sri Lanka.

The specialist spin bowling option is Nasum Ahmed, who has played 24 T20Is over the last two years for 29 wickets at an economy of 7.22. Last year Ahmed was a real find for Bangladesh, taking 22 wickets in 18 matches at 6.63—form he will be looking to rekindle in this year’s World Cup.

Overall stats for Bangladesh Players in T20Is - Bowlers

Check T20 World Cup 2022 Squads For Other Teams