Bangladesh have named their 14-player squad for their two-Test home series against Australia
Bangladesh name Test squad to play Aussies
Bangladesh on Saturday dropped batsmen Mominul Haque and Mahmudullah Riyad from their 14-man squad for the first Test against Australia beginning in Dhaka on August 27.
Mominul and Mahmudullah were part of Bangladesh's squad during their last series in Sri Lanka, though they did not play the final Test in Colombo, which Bangladesh won by four wickets to finish the two-match series 1-1.
Quick single: Australia arrive amid tight security
"It was expected that Mahmudullah would not be in the squad because he did not play the final Test in Sri Lanka," chief selector Minhajul Abedin said in Dhaka while announcing the squad.
"Mominul also missed out the last Test match. In addition, the kind of statistics that we have, they indicate he is not in good form," said Minhajul.
"He scored just one fifty in the last six innings since January. Yet, he is in our plan for the future. (But) at the moment, we are preferring Imrul Kayes and Soumya Sarkar more in his position," he said.
Bangladesh Test squad: Mushfiqur Rahim (c), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Shakib Al Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Liton Das, Mosaddek Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Shafiul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman
Nasir Hossain earned a recall after strong performances in domestic cricket, while he also impressed with a half-century during the Bangladesh squad’s recent practice match in Chittagong.
The 25-year-old allrounder’s last Test appearance was against South Africa in 2015.
Shafiul Islam also returned to the side after a good show during a recent warm-up match in Chittagong when he picked up five wickets.
Subashis Roy and Rubel Hossain, who were in the Test side during the Sri Lanka series, have also been omitted.
Australia cricket team arrived in the Bangladesh capital Friday to play two Tests against the hosts as tight security greeted Steven Smith's men at the airport.
— Bangladesh Cricket (@BCBtigers) August 18, 2017
Bangladesh have not played a Test against Australia since Ricky Ponting's team visited the country in 2006, six years after they were granted Test status.
Australia were due to play two Tests in Bangladesh in October 2015 but the tour was cancelled over security fears after a wave of attacks by Islamist extremists in the Muslim-majority nation.
Cricket Australia agreed to reschedule the series this year only after Bangladesh promised a head-of-state style security for the visitors.
Australia are scheduled to play a warm-up match on August 22-23 before they take on Bangladesh in the first Test at Sher-e Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka.
The second Test will begin at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong from September 4.
Australia in Bangladesh 2017
Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Ashton Agar, Jackson Bird, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade.
Bangladesh squad: Mushfiqur Rahim (c), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Shakib Al Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Liton Das, Mosaddek Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Shafiul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman.
22-23 August Tour match, TBC
27-31 August First Test, Dhaka
4-8 September Second Test, Chittagong