Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha said on Sunday that the out-of-favour all-rounder Afif Hossain will now have to prove his worth to make a comeback in the Tigers’ side.

Afif was part of all 61 T20Is that Bangladesh played since making a comeback after being in the wilderness following his T20I debut against Sri Lanka back in 2018 where he was unable to register a run to his name.

“Anyone who gets dropped is because of the performance, but at times we drop some players for tactical reasons if we want to do anything different or want to have a look at the player,” he added.

Since making his comeback with a quick-fire 52 off just 26 deliveries against Zimbabwe in 2019 the left-handed batsman played 61 matches on the trot for the Tigers up until the third T20I against England.

The 23-year-old, who struck three fifties to score 1020 runs in 62 T20Is with a strike rate of 120.28 and an average of 21.25, currently holds the record of playing the maximum number of T20Is on a trot for Bangladesh after he went past Mahmudullah’s previous 54 matches’ record last year.

“He (Afif) is out of the team now and he will have to do what he requires at the moment: which is to score runs. I have spoken with him regarding some of the areas of improvement and if he is able to do so and if there is a vacant place in the team, he will get the opportunity like others,” Hathurusingha concluded.