BPL form not enough for T20 World Cup nod?

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has reportedly already submitted the preliminary squad for the ICC T20 World Cup to the ICC and according to sources, is expected to make it public today.

As per rumours, the preliminary squad doesn't have many surprises. Jaker Ali, who has been struggling for form for a while, has reportedly been axed while Test skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto and young pacer Ripon Mondol, despite impressing in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), have not been included.

Shanto is the top-scorer in the BPL this season after four games, amassing 203 runs at an average of 67.66 and strike-rate of just over 147. He is also the only batter to have hit a ton this BPL, a 60-ball unbeaten 101 against Sylhet Titans for Rajshahi Warriors.

Shanto's inclusion was pondered, according to BCB sources, but it was decided not to add him as his usual No.3 position is locked up for T20 skipper Litton Das and the management is grooming Parvez Hossain Emon, who is in second position in the BPL run-getter's list, for No.4.

This leaves only the opening slots for Shanto, which are earmarked for Tanzid Hasan Tamim and vice-captain Saif Hassan.

Even though Shanto has outshone both of them so far in the BPL, with Tanzid making 61 in four innings and Saif managing three single-digit scores till date, the selectors perhaps felt their knocks for the Tigers in T20Is last year are a better indicator of their calibre than BPL performances.

A BCB source also said that the team management was reluctant to name Shanto in the squad only to bench him.

The BCB, however, have till January 20 to make changes to the squad, and if the openers don't start performing in the BPL and Shanto keeps scoring big runs, there remains a slight chance of him making a last-minute comeback, as per sources.

Meanwhile, for Rajshahi pacer Ripon, who was named the player-of-the-match in both matches he has played so far, the World Cup perhaps comes too fast for his selection as the team management appears to be depending on the tried and tested.

The 22-year-old picked up 4-13 against Noakhali Express, took the game against Rangpur Riders into the Super Over while defending only seven in the 20th over and then bowled a six-run Super Over to set up a tremendous win. However, with a settled pace attack in place, the selectors chose not to add him as a surprise inclusion.

There is a gaping hole in the rumoured squad in terms of batting options, with the management looking at all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin to fill the gap at No.7 left vacant by Jaker's exclusion while also making an impact with his death-over bowling skills in Kolkata, where the Tigers will play three of their four group matches.

Despite the wafer-thin middle-order and no genuine batter as a back-up, the management is reluctant to add a new face.

"This team has been groomed for the last one year. Given it is a World Cup, when you introduce someone new, it is difficult to manage in terms of team combinations. Apart from [Mahidul Islam] Ankon and Shanto, there are not too many options either [for inclusions]," an official informed.