The Malaysia national cricket team is set to arrive in Bangladesh tomorrow to play a bilateral series consisting of two T20s and three 50-over matches. However, instead of the senior national team, the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) High Performance (HP) unit will face the ICC associate member nation. The BCB officially announced a 15-member HP squad today for the upcoming T20 series.
SM Meherob Hasan will captain the HP team. Among the 15 players selected, 5 possess international match experience. The most experienced figure in the squad is 34-year-old all-rounder Sabbir Rahman, who has represented the national side in 48 T20Is alongside Test and ODI appearances.
Besides Sabbir, the other players with international experience are Shamim Hossain, Rejaur Rahman Raja (or Mritunjoy Chowdhury), Abu Hider Rony, and Rakibul Hasan. Promising and aggressive young batters such as Jishan Alam and Jawad Abrar have also been included.
The Malaysia national team last faced Bangladesh during the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games. That match remains their only meeting in international cricket, where Bangladesh secured a narrow 2-run victory. Shamim Hossain and Rakibul Hasan, who featured in that national team fixture, are set to face Malaysia once again as part of the current HP squad.
T20 Series (Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur):
1st T20: August 8
2nd T20: August 10
50-Over Series (Bashundhara Sports Complex):
1st Match: August 12
2nd Match: August 14
3rd Match: August 16
(Note: This series marks the first time an international foreign team will play matches at the Bashundhara Sports Complex.)
SM Meherob Hasan (Captain), Jishan Alam, Jawad Abrar, Sabbir Rahman, Ariful Islam, Shamim Hossain, Mohammad Rubel, Mritunjoy Chowdhury, Abdul Gaffar, Abu Hider Rony, Swadhin Islam, Rakibul Hasan, Pritom Kumar, Mahfuzur Rahman, and Iqbal Hossain.
