Bangladesh name 15-man squad for first two ODIs against Sri Lanka

The Bangladesh Cricket Board on 20th May (Thursday) announced the squad for the first two ODIs for a three-match series against Sri Lanka. The squad has most of the players retained from the team’s loss against New Zealand earlier this year, meanwhile, Shakib Al Hasan, who failed to travel due to injury on that tour, has come back.

Najmul Hussain Shanto, who played only a solitary T20I in Auckland on the tour has been dropped, whereas Al Amin Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Rubel Hossain, Mohammad Naim and Nasum Ahmed have also failed to get a spot in the team. Both Hossain and Mahmud are currently nursing back injuries and need rehab before they could eye a comeback. As many as four standby players – Naim Sheikh, Taijul Islam, Shohidul Islam, Aminul Islam Biplob – have been named apart from the 15-man squad.

Meanwhile, the return of Shakib will be a massive boost for the hosts and he is set to bat at number three for the team, as confirmed by Minhajul Abedin, the chief selector. The decision to promote Shanto ahead of Shakib against the West Indies did not bode too well for the team as he could only manage scores of 1 and 17 at Dhaka in the series during January this year.

Shakib and Mustafizur were recently in action in the now-suspended Indian Premier League and have duly completed their quarantine periods after returning from India on a chartered flight.

Sri Lanka cricket had announced an 18-man squad excluding captain Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal, to make way for several new faces. SLC has appointed Kusal Perera as the new captain, with Kusal Mendis being his deputy. Bangladesh will play hosts to them for three ODIs, which will all be played in Dhaka’s Shere Bangla Stadium on May 23, 25, and 28.

Bangladesh Squad for first two ODIs

Squad: Tamim Iqbal (C), Litton Das, Shakib al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mohammadd Shaifuddin, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Soumya Sarkar, Musaddek Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Shoriful Islam