Bangladesh call up Rony, Nurul for World T20 squad

Bangladesh have drafted young pacer Abu Haider Rony and wicketkeeper-batsman Nurul Hasan in the squad for the World Twenty20.

Bangladesh Cricket Board announced a 15-strong squad on Wednesday. The selectors recalled another wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Mithun and allrounder Nasir Hossain back in the fold.

Neither of them played in the series against Zimbabwe last month.

Mithun has done well in different forms of the game in recent times, BCB chief selector Faruque Ahmed said about the 25-year old's inclusion.

Having played all four matches against Zimbabwe last month, Nurul, who batted at the lower middle-order, scored 52 runs in three innings. He was involved in two runouts and a stumping behind the wicket.

Although Nurul failed to live up to the expectations in the series, the selectors decided to keep their faith in him.

Faruque said, "Nurul is one of the best wicketkeepers in our country. We included him to play the role of wicketkeeper-batsman."

The squad boasts five pacers. Skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza has Al-Amin Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Haider Rony, and Taskin Ahmed at his disposal.

Bangladesh Premier League pace revelation Abu Haider Rony made his international debut in the third match against Zimbabwe. He, too, lacked the flare he showed in the BPL, returning three wickets at an economy rate of 9.12 runs per over.

Pacers Shafiul Hossain, Abul Hasan, and Mohammad Shahid have been left out while injured Rubel Hossain was not even in the provisional squad.

Shakib Al Hasan will lead the spin attack with Arafat Sunny while Mashrafe can choose from Nasir, Mahmudullah, and Sabbir Rahman to back them up.

Imrul Kayes and Litton Kumar Das, who were in the provisional squad, have been overlooked for the showcase event which will be held in India in March-April.

But Kayes has been put on the stand-by list, which includes Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Shuvagata Hom Chowdhury, and Muktar Ali.

Bangladesh have been pitted against the Netherlands, Ireland, and Oman in Group A in the first round of the tournament. They will begin their campaign against Netherlands on Mar 9 in Dharamsala.

World T20 squad:

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza (Cpt), Shakib Al Hasan (vice-cpt), Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim, Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Al-Amin Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Arafat Sunny, Abu Haider Rony, Nurul Hasan.

Stand-by: Imrul Kayes, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Shuvagata Hom Chowdhury, Muktar Ali.