Soumya Sarkar added to Bangladesh's T20I squad as backup for Litton Das

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has confirmed the addition of Soumya Sarkar to Bangladesh's T20I squad for the upcoming T20I against Australia. Sarkar is added as a backup player for their captain, Litton Das, whose availability for the series currently hangs in balance.

Notably, skipper Litton faced a muscle strain in the third and final ODI of the series. He has been asked to remain under observation and will be scanned a day prior to the opening T20I, which will eventually decide his participation in the contest. While no major concern has been reported with the Bangladeshi captain, Sarkar's incoming is a precautionary measure followed by the team management.

"The 33-year-old Soumya adds valuable experience to the squad, having scored 1,462 runs in 87 T20 Internationals for Bangladesh. He was part of Bangladesh's ODI squad against Australia and now returns to the T20 setup," BCB said in a statement as quoted by Cricbuzz.

While Sarkar has officially been added to the T20I squad, the Bangla Tigers will be led by vice-captain Towhid Hridoy in case Litton is not able to take part in the series against Australia, fully or partially.

Further clarity is expected to unfold with the first T20I of the three-match series at the Bir Sreshtho Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Stadium being a few hours away. Notably, the entire series is scheduled to be played in Chattogram itself, with the opening game on June 17, while the second and third matches will be played on June 19 and June 21, respectively.

The hosts have already clinched the ODI series with a 2-1 margin in a historic moment for the nation and will now be looking to complete an all-round domination against the world giants.

Litton Kumar Das (captain), Parvez Hossain Emon, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Mohammad Saif Hassan, Shamim Hossain, Towhid Hridoy (vice-captain), Nurul Hasan Sohan, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Rishad Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Nahid Rana, Abdul Gaffar Saqlain and Soumya Sarkar