Changes in Bangladesh squad for Sri Lanka series, Liton Das called up
Mohammad Naim, Shamim Hossain, Tanvir Islam and Hasan Mahmud will be recalled to the team as Bangladesh rebuild after a disappointing Champions Trophy campaign
Changes in Bangladesh squad for Sri Lanka series, Liton Das called up
Bangladesh have brought Liton Das back into the ODI squad as one of five changes for the three-match series against Sri Lanka next month. The two changes were made after Mahmudullah retired from international cricket and Mushfiqur Rahim retired from ODIs. The duo made the announcement a week after Bangladesh's exit from the Champions Trophy, which was their last ODI assignment.
Chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain said that Liton was given the opportunity because he was recently named Bangladesh's T20 captain. Liton scored just 35 runs in eight ODIs between the December 2023 tour of New Zealand and the December 2024 tour of the West Indies, before being dropped, also for the Champions Trophy.
"Liton Das was in a bad time but time is the best healer. He is the T20 captain, so we can consider him till the next T20 World Cup," Ashraf said. "If someone has to get back into form, it's better to have a long break in between. We think Liton can carry his form from ODIs to T20Is."
Bangladesh squad changes
IN - Mohammad Naeem, Liton Das, Shamim Hossain, Tanvir Islam, Hasan Mahmud
OUT - Mushfiqur Rahim, Soumya Sarkar, Mahmudullah, Nasum Ahmed
The selectors have also called up Mohammad Naeem, Shamim Hossain, Tanvir Islam and Hasan Mahmud.
"Naeem has shown that he can bat with the same intensity as our [recent] white-ball openers," Ashraf said. "He did well in the Dhaka Premier League. We also have someone like Soumya Sarkar, who has 10 years of international experience. [He was dropped because] we want to help him recover fully so that he can come back properly."
Top-order batsman Naim played his last ODI in September 2023, while left-arm spinner Tanvir has his first ODI call-up. Tanvir's international experience is limited to six T20Is.
Ashraf also said that five fast bowlers have been included in the squad to handle the workload of Taskin Ahmed and Nahid Rana. "We have included five fast bowlers in the ODI squad because we have Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed coming back from injury. We are also aware of Nahid Rana's workload management, so we have enough options to choose from."
Elaborating on the omission of Sarkar, one of the two active players who were dropped from the team along with Nasum Ahmed, Ashraf said, "Soumya Sarkar has suffered three injuries in the last 12-15 months. He had an ACL injury against Sri Lanka last year. He had a finger injury in the West Indies. Recently, when we were considering him for the UAE series, he had a back injury. He did not recover in time, so he could not play any matches. We could not keep him in the team against Pakistan. We want him to recover fully and come back into consideration."
The three ODIs will be played on July 2, 5 and 8. The first two ODIs will be played at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo and the third match will be played in Pallekele.
Bangladesh squad for the ODI series against Sri Lanka
Mehdi Hasan Miraj (captain), Tanjid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Mohammad Naim, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Touhid Hridoy, Liton Das, Zaker Ali, Shamim Hossain, Rishad Hossain, Tanvir Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanjim Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Nahid Hasan, Nahidul Islam.
