Unlike their rivals, who only named a handful of Test cricketers in the India A squad, Bangladesh went on to pick as many as 10 Test players in their A squad for the opening 4-day fixture. Mohammad Mithun will captain the side that features the likes of former Test skipper Mominul Haque and other Test cricketers such as Shadman Islam, Mahmudul Hasan, Nazmul Hossain, Mossadek Hossain, Nayeem Hasan, Taijul Islam, Shoriful Islam and Khaled Ahmed.
Minhajul Abedin, the BCB chief selector, explained the move by saying the involvement of Test players in this game would help prepare the team for the upcoming two-match Test series against the mighty India.
“We have picked many Test cricketers in our ‘A’ squad as we want to prepare for the upcoming two-match Test series against India through these four-day games,” said Abedin, as quoted by Cricbuzz.
“We have not played a longer version of cricket for a while apart from our domestic competition, and that is the reason we have decided to include so many Test probables, considering the fact when you play against such tough opposition, it will help you to prepare better,” he added.
Bangladesh A squad for 1st four-day game:
Shadman Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Mominul Haque, Mohammad Mithun(C), Najmul Hossain Shanto, Tawhid Hridoy, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Zakir Ali Anik, Nayeem Hassan, Taijul Islam, Shoriful Islam, Rejaur Rahman Raja, Syed Khaled Ahmed and Sumon Khan.
India A squad for 1st four-day game:
Abhimanyu Easwaran (C), Rohan Kunnummal, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Yash Dhull, Sarfaraz Khan, Tilak Varma, Upendra Yadav (wk), Saurabh Kumar, Rahul Chahar, Jayant Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Atit Sheth.
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