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Cricket
Academy off to Colombo
Sports Reporter

Members of the GP-BCB National Cricket Academy pose for a photo with BCB cricket operations committee chairman Gazi Ashraf Hossain (sitting, centre) at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday. Photo: STAR

The GP-BCB National Cricket Academy side left Dhaka last night to the Sri Lankan capital Colombo for a 22-day tour.

The 15-member squad will first play a two-day warm-up game and then go on to play two four-day and three one-day games against their Lankan counterparts.

Nayeem Islam, the right-handed batsman, will lead the side replacing left-arm spinner Suharwardi Shuvo, who led in South Africa. Marshall Ayub, another talented right-handed bat, has been chosen as his deputy after his fine performance in the previous tour.

But their overall performance was not upto standards in South Africa, despite winning the opening four-dayer by one wicket. They went on to lose the next four-day game against the South African Academy and lost the one-day series 1-2.

Wicketkeeper Ashiqul Islam, who fared pretty well in the under-19 World Cup, has been chosen ahead of Sahagir Hossain while Abahani's aggressive opener Mahbubul Karim will also tour Sri Lanka.

SQUAD
Nayeem Islam (captain), Marshall Ayub (vice-captain), Shamsur Rahman, Imrul Kayes, Farhad Hossain, Mahbubul Karim, Nasir Hossain, Suharwardi Shuvo, Arafat Sunny, Sajidul Islam, Delwar Hossain, Mahbubul Alam, Rubel Hossain, Ziaur Rahman and Ashiqul Islam (wicketkeeper).