The inclusion of legspinner Rishad is the most interesting call. He has been around the senior setup for the last few years but has hardly had any opportunities - even in the domestic circuit, like many legspinners in the country. The last time he played regularly in a domestic tournament was nearly two years ago in the Dhaka Premier League T20s. This season, Rishad has only bowled 5.1 overs in the first-class competition.

Shoriful came back in place of Rejaur, who hasn't played an international match despite being in several Bangladesh squads since late 2021.

Afif's exclusion counts as a major setback for the young left-hand batter. His unbroken string of 61 T20I appearances ended when he was dropped for the third T20I against England, and till recently a shoo-in for both white-ball formats, Afif now finds himself on the sidelines.

The three T20Is will be played in Chattogram on March 27, 29 and 31.

Bangladesh T20I squad for Ireland series: Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Litton Das (wk), Rony Talukdar, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Rishad Hossain, Jaker Ali