Mominul to lead A team

The Bangladesh national cricket team's 'Test specialist' Mominul Haque has been named captain of the Bangladesh A team's one-day squad for their upcoming tour of Ireland, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) informed through a press release yesterday.

Mominul was not considered for the shorter format ever since he last played a one-day game three years ago but the Ireland tour could prove to be an opportunity for the left-hander to showcase his talents ahead of the 2019 ICC World Cup in England.

Another national discard, Soumya Sarkar, will act as deputy to Mominul for the one-day series but will lead the side for the T20 format later in the tour.

Although Soumya lost his place in the national Test and ODI teams following a poor run of form, the 25-year-old participated in the just concluded A team series against Sri Lanka at home, where he suffered disappointing outings in both the four-day and one-day series.

Taskin Ahmed was also named for the Ireland tour as the pacer has recovered from a back injury and it will be vital for the 23-year-old to regain his confidence if he is to return to the national side. The same can be said for all-rounder Saif Uddin, who was also named in the squad.

Wicket-keeper batsman Nurul Hasan Sohan returned to the country after the recent Test series against West Indies and was included as well alongside Nazmul Hossain Shanto, who is currently still in the Caribbean for the ODI series.

Meanwhile pacers Khaled Ahmed and Shariful Islam, who impressed during the series against Sri Lanka A, were retained.

The Bangladesh A team will depart for Ireland on July 28 and will take on the hosts in a five-match one-day series followed by a three-match T20I series.

SQUAD: Soumya Sarker (Captain for T20 series and Vice Captain for one-day series), Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Fazle Mahmud, Mominul Haque (Captain for one-day series), Afif Hossain, Khaled Ahmed, Shariful Islam, Al Amin (Jr.), Zakir Hasan, Nayeem Hasan, Sunzamul Islam, Nurul Hasan, Saif Uddin, Mizanur Rahman, Saif Hassan, Taskin Ahmed.