Bangladesh add 33-yr-old opener to T20I squad vs Australia as captain uncertain for series starter

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on June 16 added 33-year-old opener Soumya Sarkar to their T20I squad on the eve of T20I series opener against Australia. He has returned to the T20I squad as skipper Litton Das’ participation is unclear due to fitness issues.

There is no major injury concern surrounding Das but he was set to undergo a scan on June 16. A decision on his availability is likely to be taken closer to the fixture. If he doesn’t play, Towhid Hridoy will make his T20I captaincy debut. 

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Sarkar was part of the recently-concluded ODI series. Das may be rested as a precautionary measure for the first T20I of the series in Chattogram. However, he did turn up for the pre-match press conference and the trophy photoshoot with Australia skipper Mitchell Marsh.

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In addition, another wicketkeeper-batter Parvez Hossain Emon is suffering from a fever and a tonsil infection.

Sarkar returns after long absence

Sarkar registered scores of 42 and 2 in the second and third ODI respectively against Australia. His last T20I appearance was in December 2024 against West Indies where he scored 11 runs from 18 balls.

Sarkar’s T20I numbers

The southpaw made his T20I debut in 2015. From 87 T20Is, he has is 1,462 runs, averaging 17.82 and scoring at a strike rate of 122.13. He has five T20I half-centuries to his name. He can chip in with a few pacers of medium pace. So far, he has 12 wickets from 28 appearances as a bowler in T20Is.

Bangladesh’s updated T20I squad vs Australia -

Litton Kumar Das (captain), Parvez Hossain Emon, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Mohammad Saif Hassan, Shamim Hossain, Towhid Hridoy (vice-captain), Nurul Hasan Sohan, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Rishad Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Nahid Rana, Abdul Gaffar Saqlain and Soumya Sarkar.

Marsh boost for Australia

After the historic defeat in the ODI series, Marsh will provide a huge boost to Australia’s batting unit. Also, Nikhil Chaudhary and Joel Davies will be in spotlight. They are yet to make their T20I debuts. In the batting department, Tim David's presence will be a boost for the visitors as well.

Bangladesh vs Australia T20I head-to-head

Bangladesh and Australia have locked horns 11 times in T20Is. Australia have won seven and lost four. The last time they met was in T20 World Cup 2024. Australia beat them by 28 runs. At home, Bangladesh have beaten four out of six times. The last time Australia toured Bangladesh for a T20I series, they suffered a 4-1 defeat.