Dhaka, Jan 3 (IANS) The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Saturday named Azizul Hakim as captain of a strong squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s Under-19 World Cup, to be co-hosted by Zimbabwe and Namibia, with Zawad Abrar appointed as his deputy.

Bangladesh have banked on experience and current form to select a 15-member squad. The board has also announced eight standby players who can be used in case of injury. The team will begin their campaign against India on January 17.

Bangladesh captain Azizul and vice-captain have been in good touch. The duo have scored over 1,000 runs in Youth ODIs since the last U19 World Cup. Kalam Siddiki, with 857 runs in this period, is another batter to watch out for in the team.

Azizul’s team also carries an experienced bowling attack, with pacers Iqbal Hossain and Al Fahad expected to get plenty of support in pace-friendly conditions in Zimbabwe. The duo have been the most successful bowlers since the last U19 World Cup, with 45 and 43 wickets to their names respectively.

Bangladesh will need to be at their best in a tough Group B that includes India, New Zealand, and the USA. From the four groups, three teams each will advance to the Super Sixes, followed by the semi-finals and the final.

In all, 16 teams will participate in the 2026 ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup, with 41 matches to be played in the tournament. The 16 teams will be divided into four groups, with the top three teams from each group advancing to the Super Six stage. The fourth-placed teams in Group A and D will face each other, while the fourth-placed teams in Group B and C will face each other in the placement stage.

Bangladesh Squad: Azizul Hakim Tamim (c), Zawad Abrar (vc), Samiun Basir Ratul, Sheikh Parvez Jibon, Rizan Hossan, Shaharia Al Amin, Shadin Islam, Md Abdullah, Farid Hasan Faysal, Kalam Siddiki Aleen, Rifat Beg, Saad Islam Razin, Al Fahad, Shahriar Ahmed, Iqbal Hossain.

Standby: Abdur Rahim, Debashis Sarkar Deba, Rafi Uzzaman Rafi, Farhan Shahriar, Farzan Ahmed Alif, Sanjid Majumder, Md Sobuj.

–IANS

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