All-rounder Sakib al Hasan was left out of Bangladesh squad for the two-Test series against South Africa after he sought a break from Tests for six months, said a senior official of Bangladesh Cricket Board. Sakib filed an application to BCB on Sunday seeking six-month sabbatical from Tests, due to fatigue. He, however, made himself available for other formats. BCB’s cricket operations chief Akram Khan said they have accepted his plea during meeting at the Prime Minister’s office.
‘Today we went to the Prime Minister’s office to submit a cheque of Tk 2 crores for the flood victims. There we discussed the matter informally with our president [Nazmul Hasan] and decided to accept his application,’ he said.
‘As a result he [Sakib] was left out of the team for the South Africa Tests. But if he wants he can join the team before the second Tests,’ he added.
The BCB later announced 15-memmber squad for the two Test matches.
All-rounder Mahmudullah was recalled to the team alongside Rubel Hossain, Subashis Roy while Nasir Hossain have been dropped.
Bangladesh lost their all previous four Tests in South Africa by an innings margin.
Squad: Mushfiqur Rahim (capt), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar , Imrul Kayes, Liton Das, Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman, Mehedi Hasan, Shafiul Islam, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hossain, Subashis Roy, Mominul Haque.
-With New Age input
