Bangladesh recall Najmul Hossain Shanto and Hasan Mahmud for Asian Games 2026

The Bangladesh selection board named a 15-member T20I squad for the Asian Games 2026 on September 2, 2026, bringing Najmul Hossain Shanto and Hasan Mahmud back into the fold after extended absences from the shortest format. Litton Das resumes the T20I captaincy, having sat out the Zimbabwe and Australia series while recovering from a hamstring injury.

Nurul Hasan and Abdul Gaffar Saqlain are the notable omissions, with both left out of the touring party. Pace bowler Nahid Rana also misses out, though his absence is injury-related as he continues to manage a side strain. Bangladesh enter the tournament with direct entry to the quarter-finals, where they face the Group B winner on September 28, 2026. All matches at the Asian Games will be staged at Korogi Sports Park.

The squad is built around a mix of established T20I performers and players who have impressed in recent red-ball cricket. Bangladesh will be aiming to go one better than the bronze medal they secured at the 2023 Asian Games.

Shanto's previous T20I outing came against the UAE in May 2025, meaning more than a year passed before this selection. That period included a run of 19 consecutive T20I innings without a half-century, and he also relinquished the T20I captaincy to Litton. What appears to have shifted the selectors' thinking is a strong run of form across formats. Shanto captained Bangladesh to a historic first Test victory on Australian soil, contributing a half-century in Darwin during that series. In the Bangladesh Premier League, he compiled 355 runs, featuring one fifty and one century, which underlined his consistency at the top of the order.

Mahmud's case rests on similar grounds. His most recent T20I appearance came during the Pakistan tour in 2025, where he returned three wickets across three matches at an economy rate of 11.30, figures that did little to secure his place. However, his performances in longer formats have been compelling. He was named Player of the Match in Bangladesh's Test win in Australia, and in the BPL he claimed 10 wickets at an average of 24.67. Those contributions across both competitions appear to have been enough to bring him back into T20I contention.

Litton Das (capt), Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Saif Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Tawhid Hridoy, Mosaddek Hossain, Yasir Ali, Rishad Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Mohammad Saifuddin, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud.