Bangladesh announce men's T20 World Cup squad

Mahmudullah captains a 15-strong main group with few surprise names, with Tamim Iqbal omitted as per his request

Bangladesh have sprung few surprises after naming their squad for the men's T20 World Cup starting next month in Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

Mahmudullah will lead the 15-strong main group as captain.

Tamim Iqbal is left out after he withdrew himself from contention at the start of the month.

The 32-year-old, who has not played a T20I since March 2020, did not want to be considered ahead of more established members of the team.

Mohammad Naim, Soumya Sarkar and Liton Das, therefore, travel to the UAE as the opening batters.

Rubel Hossain and Aminul Islam have been named as reserves. Mosaddek Hossain, who played against Australia in August, is a notable omission.

Having failed to qualify directly for the main tournament, The Tigers must go through a preliminary group stage. Their campaign starts against Scotland on October 17 before matches against Oman and Papua New Guinea.

^{Tamim Iqbal ruled himself out of contention at the start of September}

"We considered the team's consistent performance," said chief selector Minhajul Abedin said. "We had to follow a plan in home conditions, but we will have a different mentality when we go abroad. Everyone is within a system, training under the team management. 

"We are seeing the players in training, and we are confident that our specialist coaches will prepare them accordingly. I am confident they are prepared to play, and we expect pretty much the same performance.

"Winning is very important, regardless of the format. It gives you confidence, whereas losing takes away the morale. Winning confidence is usually very useful going into a big tournament. 

"Our World Cup performance begins in Oman, where we have never played cricket. We have to formulate a plan only when we arrive in Oman. I am confident that our experienced players can acclimatize very quickly."

Bangladesh squad: Mahmudullah (c), Shakib al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das, Afif Hossain, Mohammad Naim, Nurul Hasan, Shamim Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Saifuddin, Shariful Islam, Taskin Ahmed

Reserves: Aminul Islam, Rubel Hossain