2024-10-01 18:42:26
Published: 11:58, 30 September 2024 Updated: 12:05, 30 September 2024
Shakib Al Hasan said about leaving the place and giving opportunities to others. The former captain spoke about the team’s preparation for the 2026 T20 World Cup. That is why one of the best all-rounders in the world has retired from T20. As an alternative to Shakib, the selectors returned Mehdi Hasan Miraj to the T20 team after 14 months.
Miraj got a chance in the team for three T20Is against India. The 26-year-old all-rounder is going to fill Shakib’s place. Regarding his inclusion in the team, chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu said, ‘Shakib Al Hasan has announced that he has played his last Twenty20 match. We don’t really have an option close to his experience, performance in the middle order at the moment. However, we think Mehdi Miraj is the one who can handle his place in batting very well. He will take that place. In particular, we think he can make a big contribution in batting and he also does good off-spin.’
Mirage last played T20 on 16 July 2023 at home against Afghanistan. Since then he has been hiding in this format. Scored 248 runs at a strike rate of 118.66 in 25 matches. And in bowling he got 13 wickets at 8.24 economy and 26.7 strike rate.
The chief selector said, ‘The conventional bowling he does should not be disturbed in any way. You know that in T20 matches, there are many good balls, fielders have to be picked up from outside the field. This was one of the main reasons why Mirage was not included in the World Cup squad. We had a very clear discussion with him on these matters, why we didn’t keep him in the team, where we wanted to see him.’
Dhaka/Yasin/Vijay