Experienced opener Tamim Iqbal has opted out of Bangladesh’s upcoming tour of India as his wife is due with their second child.
Imrul Kayes has been added to the limited overs squad as his replacement, but whether Kayes will stay on to fill in for the Test series too remains unclear.
Iqbal had earlier informed the BCB that he might have to skip the second Test, in Kolkata from November 22, to be with his wife. However, he has now decided to stay at home for the weeks heading up to the delivery date too.
The southpaw had previously requested a break from all cricket and as a result missed Bangladesh’s home Test against Afghanistan and the T20I tri-series involving Zimbabwe and Afghanistan last month. He made a return to first-class cricket on October 10, playing for the Chittagong Division against Dhaka Metro in the National Cricket League, before picking up a rib injury.
His last international appearance was in the three-match ODI series in July against Sri Lanka in which the Tigers lost all games. The 30-year-old had a poor show in that series, scoring 21 runs in three innings.
Tamim becomes the second player to miss out on the India tour after Mohammad Saifuddin was ruled out with a back injury.
Bangladesh T20I squad
Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Liton Das, Imrul Kayes, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Naim, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Aminul Islam, Arafat Sunny, Al-Amin Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shafiul Islam
