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Akbar Ali to captain Bangladesh as BCB announce Asia Cup Rising Stars 2025 squad

Soumyajit Dutta

Bangladesh Asia Cup Rising Stars squad announced [Source: AFP Photos]Bangladesh Asia Cup Rising Stars squad announced [Source: AFP Photos]

The Bangladesh Cricket Board has unveiled a 15-member A Squad for the Asia Cup Rising Stars T20 tournament. The eight-team tournament, which also features prominent established cricketing countries like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan, will be held in Doha, Qatar. The tournament is scheduled to take place from November 14 to November 23. 

Bangladesh will have their opening clash against Hong Kong on November 15, with their concluding clash against Sri Lanka A. The squad of Bangladesh A features names like Ariful Islam, Abu Hider Rony, Ripon Mondol, and Mahidul Islam and Jishan Alam. Domestic star Akbar Ali was named to captain the side.

Akbar Ali to lead mixed fray for major tournament

The skipper Akbar Ali has been a prominent name in domestic cricket with at least 92 games to his name, where he scored 1853 runs at an average of 27.65. He is primarily a wicketkeeper-batter who has also featured for teams like Rajshahi and Khulna Tigers in the BPL. 

His latest contributions, though underwhelming, include scores of 40, 44, and 28, which strengthen his case to lead the side. In T20 cricket, Akbar Ali boasts 1033 runs from 77 matches, where he has two half-centuries to his name and strikes at 133.63.

Rony, Ripon to add to the experienced side

Other notable names include Abu Hider Rony, who earned his maiden T20I cap for Bangladesh back in 2016 during a match against Zimbabwe. His last stint for the nation was against West Indies back in 2018, and since then he has been playing division cricket and had some significant stints in the BPL as well, where he averages 24.35 in his career. 

Hider played 13 T20I matches where he bagged 6 wickets at an economy rate of 9.16. He is a good addition as a pace and yorker specialist bowler but has been out of favour with Bangladesh selectors since 2018 and is only getting a chance in the Rising Stars competition.

Ripon Mondol is another noticeable name who debuted for his country in 2023 and picked up four wickets from three matches. His T20 domestic cricket career has also been decent, with 31 wickets from 23 matches. Ripon's recent BPL stint with Barishal saw him bag five wickets from five matches at an economy rate of 8.94. 

With a solid 15-member strong team, comprising good opening batters, all-rounders, and pace bowlers, the Bangladesh team is ready to challenge the other teams in this tournament.

Bangladesh A squad for Asia Cup Rising Stars

Akbar Ali (Captain), Jishan Alam, Habibur Rahman, Jawad Abrar, Ariful Islam, Yasir Ali Chowdhury, Mahidul Islam Bhuiyan, Rakibul Hasan, SM Meherob Hossain, Abu Hider Rony, Tufayel Ahmed, Shadhin Islam, Ripon Mondol, Abdul Gaffar Saqlain, Mohammad Mrittunjoy Chowdhury.