Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim back in Bangladesh squad for Afghanistan T20Is

Shakib Al Hasan is back in Bangladesh's T20I squad after having skipped the three-match series at home against Pakistan in November last year. Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das, who were both dropped for the Pakistan T20Is, also returned to the squad for the upcoming two-match series against Afghanistan.

Munim Shahriar, who was among the breakout stars of BPL 2022, was also included in the squad.

The comebacks of Mushfiqur and Litton were always on the cards, given their experience. Mumnim's presence, meanwhile, brings freshness to the group. The 23-year-old showed the willingness to take risks in the powerplay and gave Fortune Barishal good starts in at least four of his six appearances this BPL.

Saif Hassan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Nurul Hasan, Shamim Hossain, Aminul Islam and  Akbar Ali were left out of the squad.

Minhajul Abedin, the chief selector, said that Shamim and Nurul could still be part of Bangladesh's plans.

"We need a bit of stability in our T20 side," Minhajul Abedin said. "Shamim and (Nurul Hasan) Sohan aren't out of the system. We will keep an eye on them. We have picked Munim Shahriar after following him for a year since he was included in the High Performance squad."

Legspinner Aminul was also dropped, which isn't a big surprise given the Bangladesh selectors and management's reluctance towards that variety of spin. Akbar too lost his place, mainly because of the return of Mushfiqur and Litton.

The selectors, however, retained Mohammad Naim, hoping he finds form despite a poor BPL campaign.

The T20I series will begin on March 3 in Dhaka, three days after the end of the ODI series in Chattogram. Dhaka will also host the second - and final - T20I on March 5.

Bangladesh T20I squad: Mahmudullah (capt.), Litton Das, Munim Shahriar, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Yasir Ali, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Nasum Ahmed, Shohidul Islam, Mohammad Naim

In: Litton Das, Munim Shahriar, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim

Out: Saif Hassan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Nurul Hasan, Shamim Hossain, Aminul Islam, Akbar Ali