Arafat, Al Amin recalled for India T20Is

The Bangladesh Cricket Board Thursday recalled spinner Arafat Sunny and pacer Al Amin Hossain for the three-match T20I series against India, scheduled for next month.

Both Arafat and Al Amin returned to the T20I side after three years in the wilderness with their last appearance in the shortest format coming at the 2016 World T20I in India. 

Left-arm spinner Arafat has taken 12 wickets in 10 T20Is while right-arm seamer Al Amin has bagged 39 wickets in 23 T20Is.

Alongside the two, opening batsmen Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar also scripted returns to the T20I set-up.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian PM @narendramodi have been invited for the second and final Test between @BCCI and @BCBtigers, which will be played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata from November 22 to 26, reports https://t.co/mSkxXmlqoz.https://t.co/6R1hQpdxef#BCB

— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) October 17, 2019

Tamim took a sabbatical after the World Cup 2019 in England and Wales where he had a disappointing outing.

He missed the tri-nation T20I series at home against Afghanistan and Zimbabwe.

Soumya meanwhile, dropped midway through the tri-series against the Afghans and the Zimbabweans for poor form, gets another chance to impress against the Indians.

The quartet came into the side in place of batsmen Sabbir Rahman and Nazmul Hossain Shanto, spinner Taijul Islam and paceman Rubel Hossain.

@BCBtigers seamer-allrounder Saifuddin does not mind a change in his bowling action if it comes to survival in the national team.https://t.co/fOwoaKtQ6n#BCBTIGERS #BCB #TIGERS #BANGLADESH #CRICKET #BANGLADESHCRICKET #SAIFUDDIN #BANGLADESHTEAM #BANGLADESHCRICKETTEAM

— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) October 16, 2019

The right-handed Sabbir has not been in the best of form of late and was dropped for his unimpressive performances in the tri-series.

Youngster Shanto was also axed from the side after failing to make the most of his opportunity in the tri-series, making only five and 11 in two outings.

This omission will perhaps not go down well with Shanto, who has now been dropped for the second time in the last 12 months.

All-rounder Shakib al Hasan will lead the side after clinching the Caribbean Premier League T20 title recently with Barbados Tridents. 

Unlike the past few seasons, the first-class cricket tournament based on divisional teams of the country has attracted decent attention with participation of players from the current national setup.https://t.co/DN1xVHmZh1#CRICKET #BCBTIGERS #BCB #TIGERS #BANGLADESHCRICKET #NCL

— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) October 10, 2019

Leg-spinner Aminul Islam Biplob retained his place in the side after an impressive start to his international career, while opener Naim Sheikh was also named in the side.

The three T20Is will be held on November 3, 7 and 10 in Delhi, Rajkot and Nagpur respectively.

Bangladesh and India will also play a two-match Test series after the T20Is.

The first Test will be held at Holkar Stadium in Indore from November 14-18 while the second and final Test will take place at Eden Gardens in Kolkata from November 22-26.

Squad

Shakib al Hasan (Captain), Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Naim Sheikh, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Aminul Islam, Arafat Sunny, Saifuddin, Al-Amin Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman and Shafiul Islam