Sports Reporter :
Prolific wicketkeeper-batter Litton Das has been selected Captain of the Bangladesh Cricket team for Twenty20 International (T20I) matches up to 2026 T20 World Cup.
Najumul Hossain Shanto was the Captain of three formats of (Test, ODI, T20I). In January of 2025, Shanto announced his captaincy of T20I format of Bangladesh Cricket team. Shanto didn’t play in the three-match T20I series against West Indies due to injury. So, Litton Das acted as Stand-in-Captain in that series and Bangladesh whitewashed West Indies under captaincy of Litton Das.
Taskin Ahmed was one of the contender of that post. But the right-arm pacer has been suffering injury in his ankle for some days. His return to the field is uncertain. India and Sri Lanka will jointly arrange the ICC T20I World Cup in 2026. Mahedi Hasan will act as Vice-Captain with Litton Das for the upcoming Pakistan T20I series in May and will take part in the T20I series against United Arab Emirates.
Bangladesh will play five T20 International (T20I) matches during their Pakistan tour in May 25 to June 3. The series, which is part of the Future Tour Programme (FTP), originally consisted of three ODIs and three T20Is.However, with the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup scheduled for next year, both the boards have mutually agreed to replace the ODIs with two additional T20Is.
Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad, which successfully hosted the inaugural Champions One-Day Cup in September last year and National T20 Cup last month, will stage the first and second T20Is of the series, scheduled on May 25 and 27 respectively.
Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium will host the remaining three T20Is, scheduled on May 30, June 1 and 3. All five matches will begin at 7:00pm (Bangladesh Standard Time).
The Bangladesh team will arrive in Pakistan on May 21 and will train at the Iqbal Stadium from May 22 to 24. Before heading to Pakistan for a five-match T20I series starting on May 25, Bangladesh will play a two-match T20I series against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Sharjah.
The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed the news on Friday last, announcing the schedule for the upcoming series. Both matches will be started at 9.00pm (Bangladesh Standard Time) on May 17 and 19 in Sharjah.
Bangladesh squad for UAE and Pakistan T20I series:Litton Das (Captain), Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Jaker Ali Anik, Rishad Hossain, Mahedi Hasan (Vice-Captain), Tanvir Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Nahid Rana, and Shoriful Islam.
