Hamza to captain Bangladesh for the first time

Hamza Choudhury is set to captain Bangladesh for the very first time in his debut match at the SAFF Championship 2026 against the Maldives at the National Stadium in Dhaka on Wednesday, as per sources.

Hamza, who has played 13 matches for Bangladesh so far, will lead the team in place of Topu Barman, who won’t feature against Maldives as he is yet to regain his fitness.

Hamza will replace Jamal Bhuiyan in the XI. Bangladesh will make two more changes with Foysal Ahmed Fahim and Bishwanath Ghosh set to sit out to make way for Farhaan Ali Wahid and Mohammad Ibrahim.

Like Hamza, Farhaan was unavailable for the team’s opening match against Bhutan owing to club commitments.

Ibrahim, who had come off the bench to score the winner against Bhutan, will start as the No.9, as per sources.

Bangladesh are already through to the semifinals. The match against Maldives will decide their position in Group A and who they will face, India or Pakistan, in the semifinal.