Bangladesh announce change in Asian Games 2026 squad [Source: AFP]On the eve of the men’s cricket event at the Asian Games 2026, Bangladesh have made a late change to their squad, bringing in an experienced yet uncapped bowler as an injury replacement.As a higher-seeded team, Bangladesh will directly compete in the quarter-finals, so they have a few extra days to prepare for the tournament. However, due to multiple injury concerns within the squad, they have decided to make a change to ensure enough training sessions for the replacements.Uncapped Aliss Al Islam joins Bangladesh's Asian Games squadIn an interesting turn of events, the BCB have announced a spin-bowler in Aliss Al Islam as an injury replacement for an allrounder and, more notably, a speedster, Mohammad Saifuddin.During the preparatory net sessions last week, Saifuddin had complained of pain in his right hamstring. The MRI scans later on September 19 confirmed an injury, which rules him out of the entire tournament. The update on the 29-year-old's return is awaited as of now.Also Read: Taskin Ahmed Signs Up For Afghanistan Premier LeagueWhy did Aliss Al Islam replace a fast bowler?Part of Bangladesh's original squad, Saifuddin has already represented Bangladesh in 51 T20Is, scalping 57 wickets at an economy rate of 8.56. With the bat, he can contribute a few runs late in the innings as well.However, the right-arm medium pacer will be replaced by a fellow 29-year-old, who is a pure bowler. Al Islam is considered one of the mystery spin bowlers who has impressed in the Bangladesh Premier League, having famously picked a hat-trick on debut in the league in 2019.Aliss Al Islam was also called up to the senior team for the T20I series against Sri Lanka in 2024, but did not make his debut. Notably, the local media reported that he was part of the training camp for the Asian Games preparations, where he impressed the coaches and made his way into the team.Playing for Bangladesh A against South Africa A earlier this month, he picked 3/35 (10) in their 5-wicket win in Potchefstroom.CriterionSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableStatsSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableInningsSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table56SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableWicketsSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table59SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableBowling Avg/SRSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table22.86/21.30SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableEconomy RateSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table6.42SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableBest FiguresSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table4/17SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table4W/5WSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table2/0SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table(Aliss Al Islam's T20 stats)Bangladesh eye Asiad Gold despite injuriesCaptain Litton Das has already opened up about the fitness concerns around the roster but, regardless, believes they are in for a Gold Medal contention in Japan."The concern is that the three all-rounders who played most recently are all injured. At the moment, I don’t really see anyone else in Bangladesh. "We are always targeting trophies but this time the big dream is to win the gold medal. All the players are really excited about it. As a player, I will also have my expectations. I can tell you that all the players are eager about this tournament. We get to play franchise or international tournaments often, but playing in the Asian Games is a rare occurrence."Bangladesh updated squad for Asian Games 2026Litton Das (c and wk), Towhid Hridoy (vc), Najmul Hossain Shanto, Parvez Hossain Emon (wk), Tanzid Hasan, Yasir Ali, Mahedi Hasan, Mosaddek Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Rishad Hossain, Saif Hassan, Aliss Al Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam.Also Read: Top 5 Captains With Most Wins For India In T20Is
