The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has announced the men’s squad for the Asian Games 2026, beginning on September 19 in Japan. Litton Das, who will captain the side, has returned from injury, while the contingent also includes Hasan Mahmud and Najmul Hossain Shanto.
Litton Das missed Bangladesh’s last two T20I series
The right-handed batter had missed the Bangla Tigers’ last two T20I series against Zimbabwe and Australia due to a hamstring injury but has been declared fit now. Das had a forgettable time in the two-Test series in Australia, failing to buy even a run and will look to regain form through white-ball cricket. Nurul Hasan and Abdul Gaffar Saqlain are not part of the squad, suffering omission, while key fast bowler Nahid Rana continues to be unavailable after missing the Australia tour and will get on with his recovery from a side strain.
Meanwhile, Shanto returns to the T20I side for the first time since playing the format in May 2025 against the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He endured a prolonged struggle in T20Is, going 19 innings without a half-century and lost his captaincy to Litton. Nevertheless, the southpaw has been performing well in Test cricket and aggregated 355 runs in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) edition last year. Mahmud hasn’t played a T20I series either since featuring last year against Pakistan. While he took three scalps in as many games last year but had an economy rate of 11.30. The right-arm seamer impressed with his impeccable line and lengths in Bangladesh’s historic Test victory over Australia last month in Darwin, taking nine wickets in the match. He also snared 10 wickets at an average of 24.67 during the most recent edition of BPL.
The Bangla Tigers will kick off their Asian Games campaign in the quarter-finals against the winner of Group B on September 28, Monday. Korogi Sports Park will stage all the matches of cricket. They had notably won the Bronze Medal in Asian Games 2023.
Bangladesh Squad for Asian Games 2026
Litton Das (c), 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 and Hasan Mahmud.