Tanzid, Saifuddin begin well in Bangladesh's World Cup preps

Bangladesh opener Tanzid Hasan and all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin passed the first test as Bangladesh began their preparations for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup with the T20I series against Zimbabwe that kicked off on Friday (May 3).

While most of the teams announced their 15-member squad for the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup, it hasn't been the case for the hosts as the team management wants to wait longer until making the squad public.

It is understood that the BCB has already submitted their 15-member squad to the ICC. However, they are not ready to disclose it before May 25 as changes can be made to the squad till May 24, subject to an approval by the technical committee of the global event, scheduled in USA and West Indies from June.

That said, the Bangladesh team management seem to have made up their minds about their 15-member squad that will represent the country in the showpiece event but there appears to be some spots that aren't indispensable.

Bangladesh is keen to see a third opener between Tanzid Hasan and Parvez Hossain with Litton Das and Soumya Sarkar being considered being first choice openers. Sarkar's availability is subject to his fitness, as he is still recovering from the injury that he sustained during the final match of the ODI series at home against Sri Lanka in February.

Tanzid, who was given a chance ahead of Parvez in the opening game, courtesy the absence of injured Soumya, seized the opportunity by hitting an unbeaten half century to help the hosts earn a comfortable eight-wicket win over Zimbabwe in the series opener at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on Friday.

Like the proverbial cat with nine lives, Tanzid lived dangerously on his T20I debut and made the most of it in the middle after being provided three lives by the Zimbabwe fielders.

The left-handed opener came up with an aggressive approach following the rain break and decided to play his shots to showcase his ability in the shorter format, while also giving a timely reminder to the selection panel.

"He [Tanzid] was fantastic. The aggressive approach he brought on in his first game is laudable. Maybe if Soumya bhai was fit he wouldn't have played. But he took his opportunity and I expect him to be consistent," Saifuddin said in the post match press conference.

Saifuddin, who was last part of the national set-up in October 2022 against New Zealand, grabbed 3-15 and helped the host bundle out the visitors for a below-par total.