Bangladesh picks uncapped all-rounder for T20s

Mohammad Saifuddin was named in the 16-man squad for the Twenty20 Internationals against Sri Lanka. Left-arm spinner Sanjamul Islam, pace bowler Subashis Roy and off-spinner Mehedi Hasan, who are yet to be capped in the shortest format, were also included.

Mehedi Hasan is yet to participate in Twenty20s.

Bangladesh on Sunday named uncapped all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin in a 16-man squad for two Twenty20 Internationals against Sri Lanka in Colombo next week. “We had been looking for a pace bowling all-rounder for a long time who could give our batting some depth, especially, in limited-overs cricket,” chief selector Minhajul Abedin told AFP .

“He is a good bat down the order and can bowl well too.”

The 20-year-old Saifuddin played in last year’s Under-19 World Cup. Bangladesh also named left-arm spinner Sanjamul Islam, pace bowler Subashis Roy and off-spinner Mehedi Hasan, who are yet to be capped in the shortest format. Pace bowler Rubel Hossain, all-rounder Shuvagata Hom and left-arm spinner Taijul Islam have been excluded.

Both Twenty20s will be played in Colombo's Premadasa Stadium on April 4 and 6.

Squad: Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim, Sabbir Rahman, Mohammad Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Mehedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Subashis Roy, Sanjamul Islam, Nurul Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin.