DHAKA: Bangladesh have called up uncapped left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed for their 15-man squad for the upcoming two-match Twenty20 International series against Zimbabwe.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim and all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin make a return to the squad, but selectors left out batsmen Mohammad Mithun and Nazmul Hossain, and pace bowler Rubel Hossain.
Mushfiqur skipped Bangladesh's previous Twenty20 series in Pakistan over safety concerns, while Saifuddin has been out of action since July with a back injury.
Chief selector Minhajul Abedin said they called up 25-year old Ahmed as a back-up.
"Nasum was always in our consideration since he did well in the last BPL," he said, referring to the Bangladesh Premier League, the country's domestic T20 tournament.
The two Twenty20 matches will be held at Dhaka's Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on March 9 and 11.
Bangladesh defeated Zimbabwe by an innings and 106 runs in a one-off Test, and are currently leading the three-match one-day international series 2-0 after winning the first two matches by 169 runs and four runs respectively.
Squad: Mahmudullah Riyad (Capt), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Naim, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mahadi Hasan, Aminul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Al-Amin Hossain, Hasan Mahmud and Nasum Ahmed.