The Bangladesh Cricket Board announced a 16-man squad on October 10 for a One-Day International tri-nation series against Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, confirming Litton Das as captain and Tawhid Hridoy as his deputy in a tournament explicitly framed as preparation for the 2027 Men’s Cricket World Cup.
A new captain settling in
Litton Das was named Bangladesh’s ODI captain earlier in 2026 with the 2027 World Cup specifically in mind, and the UAE tri-series represents an early opportunity for him to shape a squad around his own leadership style ahead of the global tournament. His deputy, Tawhid Hridoy, gives the leadership group a blend of wicketkeeping nous from Das and dynamic middle-order batting from Hridoy, a pairing selectors clearly hope will anchor Bangladesh’s white-ball structure through to 2027.
The squad in full
Alongside Das and Hridoy, the squad includes Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Saif Hassan, Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Musaddek Hossain Saikat, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Quazi Nurul Hasan Sohan, Rishad Hossain, Tanvir Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam and uncapped off-spinner Aliss Al Islam. The inclusion of Mehidy Hasan Miraz, an experienced spinner and former ODI captain himself, gives the squad valuable leadership depth beyond the official vice-captaincy, while Hasan Mahmud’s selection arrives on the back of a sensational Test performance against Afghanistan, where he became the first Bangladeshi fast bowler ever to take a Test hat-trick.
A first chance for Aliss Al Islam
Perhaps the most notable individual story in the squad is Aliss Al Islam, an off-spinner who made his T20I debut against Sri Lanka at the Asian Games and now receives his first-ever ODI call-up. His inclusion reflects Bangladesh’s broader effort to deepen its spin-bowling pool beyond the long-serving Mehidy Hasan Miraz, giving selectors another frontline option as they build toward a World Cup squad still more than a year away from being finalized.
A notable absence
Fast bowler Nahid Rana misses the series entirely as he recovers from a side strain, a reminder that Bangladesh’s pace bowling resources, while deepening, remain stretched across a packed multi-format tour that has already asked a great deal of the squad in Test cricket against Afghanistan in the same window.
The tri-series format and schedule
All matches will be played in Abu Dhabi, with Bangladesh facing Zimbabwe on October 17, Afghanistan meeting Zimbabwe on October 19, and Bangladesh facing Afghanistan on October 21 in a round-robin phase, before the top two sides from that stage advance to a final on October 23. The tournament arrives directly on the heels of the one-off Test between Bangladesh and Afghanistan, meaning several players will pivot from red-ball to white-ball cricket with barely any rest in between.
Why this tri-series matters beyond the trophy
With the 2027 World Cup now firmly on the horizon, every fixture against fellow qualified nations carries extra weight for squad-building purposes. Afghanistan and Zimbabwe both represent exactly the kind of mid-tier opposition Bangladesh are likely to face in the World Cup’s expanded group stages under the ICC’s newly revised format, making the tri-series a realistic dress rehearsal rather than a routine bilateral fixture. For a Bangladesh side that has shown genuine Test-match improvement this year — including a landmark win over Australia in Darwin in August — translating that red-ball progress into white-ball consistency remains the next frontier.
What’s next
Beyond the immediate tri-series, selectors will be watching closely how Das manages both the bowling rotation, given Nahid Rana’s absence, and the blend of experienced heads like Mehidy Hasan Miraz alongside newer faces like Aliss Al Islam. With the final set for October 23, Bangladesh have a clear, near-term opportunity to open their new ODI captaincy era with silverware against two sides they will likely meet again on bigger stages in the years ahead.
Building toward a bigger stage
However the tri-series unfolds, the real test of this squad’s progress will come once the 2027 World Cup itself begins, played under the ICC’s newly expanded qualification and group-stage format. A strong showing in Abu Dhabi against Afghanistan and Zimbabwe would give Das and his management real evidence that the squad combinations being trialled now — Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s experience alongside Aliss Al Islam’s fresh legs, Hasan Mahmud’s pace spearheading the attack — are the right ones to carry into a tournament that remains well over a year away but is already shaping selection decisions in the present.
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