Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) selectors have announced a 14-man squad for the first Test against South Africa, to be held in Chittagong from 21 July.
The hosts have been playing some brilliant cricket in the 50-over format and they prevailed in the second ODI over South Africa by seven wickets on Sunday at Sher-e-Bangla International Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka. Bangladesh have not lost a single ODI series at home since February 2014 and the Bangla Tigers' fans would believe that they can outclass the Proteas in the final ODI as well.
After registering a comprehensive victory over the visitors on Sunday, BCB selectors announced a 14-man squad for the first Test that will be played at Chittagong. They will be announcing the squad for the second Test some time later depending on the performance of the players and injury issues.
Mustafizur Rahman has been awarded with a place in the Test squad after his outstanding show in the other two formats of the international game. He has now picked up 16 wickets in the last five ODIs at an average of 12.69. The player is slowly establishing himself as one of the primary weapons of Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza.
"Possibly he has been the brightest find for us in recent times. He has also been playing all versions of cricket this season including four-day games and we are confident that he will adjust quickly to the demands of Test cricket. His inclusion means that Abul Hasan has to miss out from the squad that we had in our last Test but Mustafizur deserves his call," BCB chief selector Faruque Ahmed told the reporters.
Mahmudullah also made his way back into the Test squad after missing out on the one-off Test match against India and also the ODI series against the neighbours.
"Obviously his (Mahmudullah's) return adds depth in the batting order and some vital experience. His offspin can also be effective and he can do the job that was expected of Shuvagata Hom who played against India. We have a reasonably settled squad and we prefer to give the young players a good run.
"Litton Das and Soumya Sarkar are players we have high hopes of while the likes of Imrul Kayes, Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan have been in excellent form in Test cricket. The bowling has variety in pace and spin. As we are playing at home therefore we have the luxury of picking squads Test by Test but this is the best combination we have," Ahmed added.
Here is the Bangladesh squad for the first Test against South Africa:
Mushfiqur Rahim (C), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Litton Das, Mominul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan , Mahmudullah, Soumya Sarkar, Nasir Hossain, Taijul Islam, Jubair Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Mohammad Shahid, Mustafizur Rahman.
