Bangladesh has announced the inclusion of Afif Hossain and Ebadot Hossain in their T20I squad for the upcoming two-match series against Afghanistan. The matches are scheduled to take place on July 14 and 16 at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, following the conclusion of the three-match ODI series in Chattogram on July 11.
Afif Hossain, who was also named in Bangladesh's ODI squad for the series against Afghanistan, last played T20Is for the national side against England in March. Since his debut in 2017, Afif has featured in 62 T20Is, amassing 1020 runs at a strike rate of 120.28, including three half-centuries.
However, the squad selection did not feature wicketkeeper-batter Jaker Ali, who was part of Bangladesh's squad for the home T20I series against Ireland.
Meanwhile, Ebadot Hossain, who last played T20Is during the men's T20 World Cup in Australia last year, returns to the fold. He made his debut in the format during the Asia Cup in the UAE. Recently, Ebadot impressed with a four-wicket haul against Afghanistan in the one-off Test match, contributing to Bangladesh's resounding 546-run victory in Mirpur.
In head-to-head encounters, Bangladesh has emerged victorious over Afghanistan only three times out of nine meetings. Following this series, Bangladesh's next T20I assignment will be against New Zealand in December of this year.
Bangladesh squad: Shakib Al Hasan (Captain), Litton Kumer Das, Rony Talukdar, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain Chowdhury, Shoriful Islam, Rishad Hossain, Afif Hossain Dhrubo