Litton had injured his left calf during the home ODI series against Australia in June and had not been named in the original Test squad, which was further depleted by injuries to fast bowlers Nahind Rana and Shoriful Islam. Litton also missed Bangladesh’s tour of Zimbabwe in June and July but has recovered in time to make the trip to Australia. The development is a boost for Bangladesh as Litton was the Player of the Match in his most recent Test for scoring 126 and 69 in a 72-run victory against Pakistan in Sylhet in June.
“The 31-year-old batsman has been sidelined since June due to the injury, but has responded well to his rehabilitation programme and will be in consideration for selection for the opening Test,” the BCB said on Saturday. “He will fly to Darwin on Sunday to join the squad.”
The Test series is a significant one for Bangladesh, their first tour to Australia in 23 years. They play a warm-up game against a Cricket Australia XI in Darwin from August 6 to 8 before the first Test begins on August 13. The second Test begins in Mackay on August 22.
Bangladesh last played a Test series against Australia in 2017, when they took a 1-0 lead in Mirpur before the visitors drew level in Chattogram. Australia are currently on top of the World Test Championship points table, while Bangladesh are in fifth place thanks to their recent 2-0 win at home against Pakistan. More recently, however, Bangladesh lost a one-off Test in Zimbabwe, a fixture that was not part of the World Test Championship.
Updated Bangladesh squad for Australia Tests
Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Soumya Sarkar, Shadman Islam, Tanzid Hasan, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Amite Hasan, Jaker Ali, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (vc), Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Khaled Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain, Musfik Hasan, Litton Das
Source link
Post Views: 14
