Selectors hopeful of spcialized T20 outfit

Bangladesh's T20 credibility has always been rather shaky and arguments have often come forward that new blood needs to be introduced to induce a change in style fit for T20 mentality. National selector Habibul Bashar was hopeful about their capabilities of being able to form a side that specializes in T20 cricket with the recent performances of the ongoing Bangabandhu T20 Cup.

Youngsters in particular have come up with impressive performances in the five-team tournament. The likes of Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar and Najmul Hossain have showcased continuity of form. Parvez Hossain's impressive ton during a big run chase has transmitted good vibes while Naim Sheikh and Najmul have shown their explosive capabilities. Big hitting lower down the order has also been promising with Akbar Ali, Towhid Hridoy employing the long handle.

The performances have provided excitement to the selectors as well as it makes their plan for a specialized T20 outfit more accessible.

"It's very promising. We had a crop established players from before but we needed players other than them to come up. The focus in these kinds of tournaments are on those players. They are our future, right? So it was very good to see. We are trying to create a specialized T20 side. To do that, we needed performers like them. This is a very good thing for the future of Bangladesh," Habibul said.

Among the five top scorers in the tournament, Tamim Iqbal is the only senior player. Liton, the highest run-scorer in the tournament, has been a class apart. Soumya and Naim have come up trumps with good knocks too. Three left-handed openers have struck tons in the tournament while likes of Yasir Ali impressed in middle-order.

"That's very positive. It's a T20 tournament but three of our players scored tons. It's not something you usually see since in this format we usually lag behind a little. Players have scored a lot of runs so as a selector, I am really happy," Habibul said.

In terms of just bilateral series, Bangladesh are scheduled to play 46 of those in 2021. The Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup will also be played in 2021. With so many matches coming up next year in various formats, Habibul saw an urgency of having players in hand.

"We have lots of games coming up. Whether T20 or other formats, we need a lot of players. If everything goes alright, Bangladesh have a lot of matches coming up. So in that regard, these events were ideal to see how well the bunch outside of the main group of players perform."