Published: 09:15 AM, 27 April 2026
Bangladesh eye winning start as T20 series against Kiwis begins today
Liton Das (right) captain of Bangladesh and New Zealand skipper Tom Latham attend a photo session with the T20 series trophy on Sunday. -BCB
Bangladesh are upbeat to make a winning start as the three-match T20 International series against the visitors New Zealand starts on Monday at the BirSreshtho Flight Lieutenant MatiurRahman Stadium, Chattogram.
Liton Das, the captain of Bangladesh in T20 format will lead the side as the match will be aired live on T Sports Channel.
Bangladesh captain Litton Das said the team has moved past the disappointment of missing the recent T20 World Cup and is now focused on rebuilding for the 2028 tournament in Australia and New Zealand.
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday ahead of a T20I series against New Zealand, Litton addressed questions about the team's absence from the recent World Cup held in India and Sri Lanka.
"Yes, I think we have moved on," he said. "We played another tournament during the World Cup and the players tried to perform well there."
Litton, who recently received a two-year extension as captain, said the team is structuring its long-term plans around non-Asian conditions.
He added that the squad intends to maintain the strong team bond and preparation habits developed over the past cycle.
The upcoming series against New Zealand marks Bangladesh's first international appearance since the World Cup concluded.
For this series, the team rested veteran fast bowlers Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman to manage their workloads. Uncapped players Abdul Gaffar and Ripon Mondol replaced them in the squad.
Litton said the decision to rest the senior pacers is a proactive measure to prevent injuries, given the upcoming schedule of test matches and ODI fixtures. "I don't want them playing regularly, getting injured, and ending up exhausted," the Bangladesh captain said. "We are changing some things with that in mind."
Bangladesh have a new-look pace attack with Shoriful Islam, Mohammad Saifuddin and TanzimHasan leading the pack, with newcomers Ripon Mondol and Abdul GaffarSaqlain in the squad. MahediHasan and RishadHossain have to step up in the spin department.
Bangladesh spin bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed believes theT20I series against New Zealand would be a great platform for the newcomers in the Bangladesh squad.
'The T20 series is coming; there are a few youngsters. I think it's a great platform for them to express themselves. And we also want at the same time to make the bench strength strong,' Mushtaq said on Saturday.
'So you'll see lots of variation [in terms of selection] happens, like last game, you know, like on a crucial game Tanvir played, Rishad didn't play. So when we go to the World Cup, the bench strength and all the other players have a lot of cricket matches under their belt, so they can be prepared to play for the national team,' he added.
Bangladesh (probable): 1 TanzidHasan, 2 Saif Hassan, 3 Litton Das (capt, wk), 4 ParvezHossain, 5 TowhidHridoy, 6 ShamimHossain, 7 MahediHasan, 8 RishadHossain, 9 Mohammad Saifuddin, 10 TanzimHasan, 11 Shoriful Islam.
New Zealand (probable): 1 Tom Latham (capt, wk), 2 Katene Clarke, 3 Dane Cleaver, 4 Nick Kelly, 5 Bevon Jacobs, 6 Dean Foxcroft, 7 Josh Clarkson, 8 Nathan Smith, 9 Blair Tickner/Jayden Lennox, 10 IshSodhi, 11 Ben Sears
