Bangladesh call up rookies for Zimbabwe T20s

Bangladesh on Tuesday called up uncapped paceman Abu Hider and wicketkeeper-batsman Nurul Hasan in their 14-man squad for this month's first two Twenty20 internationals against Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe will arrive on January 11 to play four T20Is against the home side as part of their preparation for the ICC World Twenty20 in India in March-April.

The matches of the series will be held in the southern city of Khulna on January 15, 17, 19 and 22.

Left-arm pacer Hider impressed with 21 wickets in the recent Bangladesh Premier League while Hasan also showed his talent in patches during the tournament.

Bangladesh team's chief selector Faruque Ahmed said they were trying to find the right combination ahead of World Twenty20.

"This series gives us a good opportunity to see some new players before the World Twenty20," said Ahmed.

"Hider has a good variation. So we think he could be effective in this format. Nurul (Hasan) is also a good batsman."

The squad has five changes from Bangladesh’s previous Twenty20 series, also against Zimbabwe, as batsmen Liton Das, Nasir Hossain and Anamul Haque, leg-spinner Jubair Hossain and pacer Kamrul Islam have been dropped.

All-rounder Shuvagata Hom, who played seven Tests and four one-day internationals but is yet to make his debut in Twenty20 international, joined Hider and Hasan while vice-captain Shakib Al Hasan and batsman Soumya Sarkar returned.

Shakib missed the previous series for the birth of his first child while Sarkar was left out for injury.

Squad: Mashrafe Bin Mortaza (Capt), Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahaman, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Arafat Sunny, Nurul Hasan, Shuvagata Hom, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Hider and Al-Amin Hossain.