Bangladesh Cricket Board picked only two pacers - Marufa Akhter and Fariha Islam Trisna - for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026, scheduled to begin in England from June 12.
Top-order batter Taj Nehar returned to the shorter-format squad that had no place for Sharmin Sultana for the global event.
Eleven players from the previous T20 World Cup edition retain their place in the squad.
"The pace bowlers pipeline in Bangladesh is very narrow and at important moments they fall into injuries. Though England wickets are expected to be pace-friendly, the behaviour of the wickets in the recent past suggest that it is assisting the spinners like the sub-continent where the ball spins a lot. So taking the conditions into consideration, we have kept our faith on spinners and we must accept there are not many pacers in our pipeline," chief selector Sazzad Ahmed told reporters while announcing the squad.
Sazzad added that they have picked Taj Nehar in place of Sharmin due to her versatility.
"Sharmin Sultana was originally considered for the ODI format. On the other hand, Taj Nehar is a versatile player who can bat anywhere from No.1 to 6 and we believe that Taj Nehar can play an effective role in solving the team's problem of scoring runs, especially in the last 5 overs of the innings," he said.
Sazzad added that they need to change their conservative batting approach as they prepare for the global tournament.
"Yes, the defensive batting approach is currently a major concern for the team while it is not possible to change it overnight, the selectors are working on solving this problem," he said, adding that Nigar Sultana is still playing by managing her injuries.
"Joty has the ability to dominate world-class (opponents) but she has been dealing with injuries for a long time. Had it not been for this injury she could have gone to a much higher level," he added.
Bangladesh are scheduled to depart for Edinburgh on May 25 for a tri-series involving Scotland and the Netherlands, designed to acclimatise the players to English conditions ahead of the main event.
The team will then travel to Loughborough for the official ICC T20 World Cup warm-up matches before the tournament gets underway.
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Nigar Sultana Joty (Captain), Nahida Akter (Vice-Captain), Sharmin Akter Supta, Sobhana Mostary, Shorna Akter, Ritu Moni, Rabeya Khan, Fahima Khatun, Fariha Islam Trisna, Marufa Akter, Shanjida Akther Maghla, Sultana Khatun, Dilara Akter, Juairiya Ferdous, Taj Nehar
