Toss Australia opt to bowl vs Bangladesh
In the opening contest of the five-match T20I series between Bangladesh and Australia in Mirpur, it was the away captain Matthew Wade who won the toss, choosing to chase. Wade – the captain for the series in the absence of the injured Aaron Finch – said that bowling first would allow Australia to “assess the pitch” better before getting out to chase a total down. Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah said that he would’ve liked to bowl first too.
The two sides are without key personnel in this series due to reasons like injury and quarantine rules, giving fringe players in both squads an opportunity to stake their claim for a spot in their national squads for the T20 World Cup later this year. It was a sentiment both captains alluded to at the toss.
Alex Carey, who played in the middle order during the recent series in the Caribbean, will open the batting in Finch’s absence. That allows Ashton Turner to slot in at Carey’s position lower down. Australia are going in with five bowlers, the two spinners in Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa, and the quicks Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Andrew Tye. Moises Henriques is another option if they require a sixth bowler.
Bangladesh – without Liton Das, Tamim Iqbal or Mushfiqur Rahim – will have Soumya Sarkar and Mohammad Naim opening with Nurul Hasan taking the gloves. The left armers Shoriful Islam and Mustafizur Rahman are the pacers with Nasum Ahmed, Mahedi Hasan, Shakib Al Hasan and Afif Hossain providing the spin.
The conditions are cloudy in Mirpur, with rain possibly expected later in the day. This is the first bilateral T20I series between the two sides, and their first game in the format in over five years with Australia leading the head-to-head 4-0.
Bangladesh: Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Naim, Shakib Al Hasan, Nurul Hasan (wk), Mahmudullah (capt), Afif Hossain, Shamim Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Nasum Ahmed
Australia: Josh Philippe, Alex Carey, Mitchell Marsh, Moises Henriques, Ashton Turner, Matthew Wade (capt. wk), Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
Sreshth Shah is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @sreshthx
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