Paceman Kamrul Islam Rabbi became the newest addition in the Tigers' set-up as the Bangladesh Cricket Board Sunday announced the 14-member national squad for the first two home ODIs against Zimbabwe later this month.
Fellow paceman Al Amin Hossain was also named in the squad that will be led by regular ODI captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza, who recently recovered from dengue fever. Champion all-rounder Shakib al Hasan, who returned to the country from the United States and joined the national camp yesterday, will be available for selection.
Anamul Haque and Rubel Hossain however, were not included in the squad. While the former missed out due to intense competition for places, the latter did not make it owing to a calf-muscle injury.
Meanwhile, Rabbi, hailing from Patuakhali, informed the media yesterday that he is over the moon following his maiden national call-up.
“I cannot express my feelings in words. It is the dream of every cricketer to play for the national side and I am very happy to get a place in the team,” said Rabbi before adding, “My family members are also very happy and they called me [Sunday] and congratulated me. Now, I will try to prove myself whenever I get the opportunity to play.”
The 23-year old paceman, who is known for his wide range of seam bowling, added, “I get very good outswing with the new ball and I also get some reverse swing with the old ball. What's more, I can consistently bowl at the same spot.”
The Tigers will play three ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals against Zimbabwe with all the matches scheduled to be held at Mirpur's Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. The first ODI will be held this Saturday.