No Tamim Iqbal as Bangladesh announce World Cup squad; Mahmudullah included

Veteran opening batter Tamim Iqbal has been left out of Bangladesh's 15-man squad for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced the squad for the ICC flagship event on Tuesday.

Experienced batter Mahmudullah has been included in the team.

A lot of the players picked themselves but there had been a lot of discussion regarding the remaining spots.

Despite not being a hundred percent fit, it looked like Tamim Iqbal was an automatic choice in the squad. He made a confident return into international cricket with a fluent 44 against New Zealand. 

But just a day before the squad announcement, reports in local media suggested that Tamim told the management that he is not fit enough to play all nine group games in the tournament. 

According to reports, Shakib Al Hasan was not happy with the developments and even wanted to step down as Bangladesh captain. Eventually, the selectors decided against picking Tamim. 

Nafees Iqbal, the team's logistics manager and Tamim's elder brother, left the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium during Bangladesh's third ODI against New Zealand and it is understood that he has been removed from the post as per Shakib's request. 

Tanzid Hasan, who made his international debut in the recently-concluded Asia Cup, has been picked. Tanzim Hasan Sakib, the fast bowler who impressed in his debut match against India in the Asia Cup, has made the cut.

Bangladesh decided to experiment in the ongoing New Zealand series and at the same time look at possible options for the World Cup. The selectors were unsure about a few spots and did not name the provisional squad like most other teams. After a long wait, they revealed the squad, just a couple of days before the deadline given by the ICC.

Mahmudullah, who had been out of the ODI side for quite a while, finally made the team after the failure of batters given chances in the lower-order in the last few series. 

It was an important series for Mahmudullah to push for a spot in the World Cup squad. He went wicketless in four overs in the first ODI against New Zealand and did not get to bat as the match was called off due to rain.

In the second match, he top-scored for Bangladesh with 76-ball-49 amid a batting collapse. 

The spin duo of Nasum Ahmed and Mahedi Hasan has also been picked after a strong showing in the latter part of the Asia Cup and the early part of the New Zealand ODIs.

Soumya Sarkar auditioned for the role but recorded a duck in the second ODI against New Zealand before getting dropped from the squad for the third game.

Squad: Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim (wicketkeeper), Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Tanzid Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib