Nurul and Mushfiq to share wicketkeeping duties for NZ T20Is

In the absence of Mushfiqur Rahim and Liton Das, Nurul Hasan Sohan kept wickets in the Zimbabwe tour and the five-match home T20I series against Australia. Nurul played well enough to keep his place in the squad for the New Zealand T20Is. Both Mushfiqur and Nurul did practice wicketkeeping over the last few days ahead of the upcoming five-match series. 

Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo, in the pre-series press conference on Monday, said that Nurul will keep wickets in the first two matches and added that the wicketkeeping duties will be split up between him and Mushfiqur in the remaining matches.

Mushfiqur will also be back at the number four position. "The plan for Mushfiq is to have him at number four," said Domingo. "(Nurul Hasan) Sohan will definitely keep wickets in the first two games. The plan is to divide up the wicketkeeping between him and Mushfiq in the latter matches. Mushfiq will keep in the third and fourth match and we'll decide who'll keep in the fifth match based on their performances. We want to have options available here."

Bangladesh and Australia were involved in the slowest ever T20I series in terms of run-rate earlier this month and Domingo is hoping for better wickets this time around.  

"Unfortunately, I am not a groundsman. I am hoping for a good wicket. This time of the year with the humidity and rain around, there's not much sun. It might be harder to get those types of surfaces as you get in a different time of the year. I am hoping for good wickets. We know the importance for confidence in the batting line-up, and batting in good wickets. We also understand the importance of winning and gaining confidence. I am assuming a good, normal Mirpur wicket where 150-160 is a good score," said the 46-year old.

With Liton Das returning to the side, right now there are three contenders for the opening slots. The South African said that healthy competition within the team is important. "I don't think the opening is a problem. Before the last series, we recorded the highest T20I opening partnership (against Zimbabwe). We'll assess the fitness of Liton and then see what the XI will be. Competition is important and it's great to see some depth developing in this series," mentioned Domingo. 

Bangladesh's regular opener across formats, Tamim Iqbal, has been away from competitive cricket as he is nursing a knee injury. Tamim last played a T20I in March 2020 and whether Tamim will feature in the upcoming World Cup squad has been a never-ending debate. But Domingo refused to comment on the matter. "Regarding Tamim, I would only like to speak about the players that are currently fit and playing. Once he is fit, that will be a part of the discussion."

"The World Cup squad needs to be announced a day or two before the New Zealand series is over. Winning this series is important. Batting conditions have been difficult but it would be nicer to get a bit more confidence with the bat," he added.

New Zealand will face Bangladesh in a bilateral series in Bangladesh for the first time in eight years. The five-match T20I series will begin on September 1. Bangladesh have never won a T20I against New Zealand.