Litton Das doubtful for T20I opener, Soumya Sarkar added as cover

Bangladesh Cricket Board announced on Tuesday that they have added experienced opener Soumya Sarkar to their squad for the three-match T20I series against Australia, which begins in Chattogram on Wednesday (June 17). Litton Das's fitness issues prompted the team management to take the decision of adding Soumya in the squad for the series, scheduled respectively on June 17, 19 and 21. Litton, who suffered a muscle strain in the third One-Day International against Australia on June 14 in Mirpur, remains under observation ahead of the series opener. It has learned that Litton's availability for the series opener remains uncertain despite there being no major concern over the injury. His participation in the first T20I is subject to a scan scheduled for Tuesday. While no decision has yet been made regarding Litton's availability, the team management opted to bring in additional batting cover as a precautionary measure. "The 33-year-old Soumya adds valuable experience to the squad, having scored 1,462 runs in 87 T20 Internationals for Bangladesh. He was part of Bangladesh's ODI squad against Australia and now returns to the T20 setup," BCB said in a statement. Bangladesh are anticipated to make a final assessment of Litton's condition and make a decision based on it closer to the opening match.