Dhaka, April 29: Mosaddek Hossain Saikat was included in the Bangladesh squad on Friday for the first test against Sri Lanka, which begins on May 15.
Previously, Nayeem Hasan was picked in the squad in place of the injured Mehedy Hasan, but the decision to include Mossadek, who is not a regular in red ball cricket, was made to give his batting depth.
“Mossadek was injured after playing two first-class games, so he was unable to play in either the National Cricket League or the Bangladesh Cricket League (the first-class competitions),” Habibul Bashar, a member, told Cricbuzz. from the selection panel for the senior men’s team.
“We’ve included it because we think if we’re playing four bowlers then we might need someone who can narrow down the order,” he added.
The 26-year-old Mossadek, who played just three Tests in his career, was last featured in a Test against Afghanistan in September 2019 on Chattogram. But he had performed well in the recently concluded Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League, List A tournament, where he scored 658 runs and collected 16 wickets in 15 matches for Abahani Limited.
The Sri Lankan cricket team will arrive in Bangladesh on May 8 for the two-match series that is part of the 2021-2023 ICC World Test Championship. The first Test kicks off at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium (ZACS) in Chattogram, while the second Test kicks off at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS) in Dhaka on May 23.
Squad: Mominul Haque Showrab (Captain), Tamim Iqbal Khan, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Liton Das, Yasir Ali Chowdhury, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Ebadot Hossain Chowdhury, Syed Khaled Ahmed, Quazi Nurul Hasan Sohan, Rejaur Rahman Raja, Shohidul Islam, Shoriful Islam (subject to eligibility), Mosaddek Hossain Saikat