CSA announces T20, ODI and Test squads for the tour to Bangladesh

Cricket South Africa has announced the T20, ODI and Test squads of the Proteas for its tour to Bangladesh throughout July and August on 27 May 2015.

The 15-man ODI squad is a reflection of the one that attended the World Cup 2015, with only Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander being rested.

The 16-man Test squad has 4 uncapped players, two of whom are top order batsmen and the other two being bowlers. AB de Villiers will be on paternity leave, and will miss the Test Series. It will be the first time since his Test debut that he will miss a Test match.

The T20 squad of 14 has one uncapped name, with the rest having represented the Proteas in T20 internationals previously. Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Imran Tahir have been rested for the T20 matches.

South Africa’s tour to Bangladesh will begin with the 2 T20s, followed by 3 ODIs and will finish with the 2 Test matches.

SA T20 squad:

Faf du Plessis (c), Quinton de Kock, Rilee Rossouw, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, David Miller, David Wiese, Chris Morris, Kyle Abbott, Kagiso Rabada, Aaron Phangiso, Eddie Leie (uncapped), Wayne Parnell, Beuran Hendricks

SA ODI squad:

AB de Villiers (c), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, Rilee Roussouw, JP Duminy, David Miller, Farhaan Behardein, Chris Morris, Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir, Kagiso Rabada, Kyle Abbott, Aaron Phangiso, Wayne Parnell, Ryan McLaren

SA Test squad:

Hashim Amla (c), Dean Elgar, Reeza Hendricks (uncapped), Faf du Plessis, Stiaan van Zyl, JP Duminy, Quinton de Kock, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Aaron Phangiso (uncapped), Simon Harmer, Temba Bavuma, Kagiso Rabada (uncapped), Dane Vilas (uncapped)

from tigercricket.com

"We need to make pacer-friendly pitches to bring out new fast bowlers"- BCB President

The President of the Bangladesh Cricket Board Mr. Nazmul Hasan MP stressed on the fact of focussing on bringing out new fast bowling talents to enrich the pipeline for the national team. He spoke to the media at his Gulshan residence on 16 May, almost a week after the concluded Pakistan's tour to Bangladesh. 

The BCB President said, "We have it in our minds about changing the pitches for our domestic tournaments. Most of the domestic teams strengthen their line-ups with spinners. They do not take fast bowlers. We have planned that from now on, there will be atleast two or three seaming wickets where every team will have mandatory fixtures. Even bigger clubs like Abahani and Mohammedan will have to play in these wickets. This will encourage the teams to focus on taking and grooming fast bowlers. Our plans are for all domestic competitions: first division, second division and even the Premier Leagues".

The concern regarding finding and grooming new fast bowlers was an age-old issue, which re-surfaced after the recently concluded Test Series against Pakistan, where Bangladesh had to play with virtually one fast bowler in Shohid after Shahadat Hossain injured himself right at the beginning of the second Test. Rubel Hossain had been ruled out even before the second Test due to injury, and Bangladesh suffered from the lack of fast bowling options to pick from in a wicket which was helping the quicks.

On a different note, Nazmul Hasan mentioned that there is no possibility of changing Mushfiqur as Test captain, at least within this year. He said, "We do not have a suitable replacement for him at the moment. And one must also remember that whatever recent success that Bangladesh tasted in Tests came under his leadership."

"Mushfiqur got injured while keeping, and that must have effected his batting as well in the Test matches. We obviously expect more from him, but we also have to consider the context", said the BCB President.

From tiger cricket.com

Anticipation of a blockbuster series

The countdown had begun long ago, ever since India's tour to Bangladesh had been put in pen and paper on the ICC calender. And then there was the World Cup quarter final match between the Tigers and the men in blue which kept on fueling the hype to the tour. The wait for a blockbuster bilateral between the South Asian neighbors reached a new height after India announced its squad full of superstars to face the roaring Tigers at their den.

Team Bangladesh has already begun preparing for the series, which unfolds on 10th of next month, leaving the fans with 20 more days to wait in anticipation before Mushfiqur and Virat stand toe to toe for the toss of the one-off Test match at Fatullah.

Masrafe will then lead the Tigers against MS Dhoni's men for the 3 match ODI series beginning on 18th of June.

Amid the possibility of rainfall, some fireworks await the much talked about series between the South Asian Giants and the roaring challengers.

Let the countdown begin!

Bangladesh name unchanged squad for second Test

DHAKA, Sunday, 03 May 2015

Media Release

DAN CAKE TEST SERIES: Bangladesh name unchanged squad for second Test

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) today announced an unchanged squad for the second and final Test against Pakistan which gets underway at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on 06 May:

BANGLADESH SQUAD FOR SECOND TEST

1              Tamim Iqbal (Vice Captain)

2              Imrul Kayes

3              Liton Kumar Das

4              Mominul Hoque

5              Shakib Al Hasan                   

6              Mushfiqur Rahim (Captain)

7              Mahmud Ullah

8              Shuvagata Hom Chowdhury

9              Soumya Sarker

10           Taijul Islam

11           Zubaer Hossain

12           Rubel Hossain

13           Shahadat Hossain

14           Mohammad Shahid