Bangladesh have brought back pacer Taskin Ahmed and dropped Jaker Ali in their squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup. Litton Das will be leading the side and senior pacer Mustafizur Rahman, who has been caught in the middle of a storm after being released by his Indian Premier League (IPL) side Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), has also been included.
Bangladesh will be looking to make it to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup for the first time this year, having failed to do so despite never missing out on any edition of the tournament. Apart from their experienced pace duo of Mustafizur and Taskin, Bangladesh will also be reliant on their spin trio of Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed and Rishad Hossain. Tanzid Hasan and Parvez Hossain Emon will added some flair to the top order but Bangladesh are expected to be largely dependent on captain Litton to provide the runs.
Bangladesh are placed in Group C along with England, Italy, Nepal and the West Indies. Their first match is scheduled to be on February 7 against the West Indies after which they face Italy on February 9. Bangladesh then play England on February 14 and Nepal in their final group stage match on February 17. The first three of their fixtures are scheduled to be played in Kolkata while the last is in Mumbai.
However, government advisor Asif Nazrul said he has instructed the Board to ask the Jay Shah-led ICC to shift Bangladesh’s four league games — three in Kolkata and one in Mumbai — to Sri Lanka. The development came after Mustafizur was released by KKR under instructions from the BCCI, with the board citing “recent developments” as the reason.
Bangladesh squad for T20 World Cup 2026:
Litton Das (C), Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Saif Hassan, Tawhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Quazi Nurul Hasan Sohan, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Taskin Ahmed, Shaif Uddin, Shoriful Islam