Liton Das, Mohammad Naim, Shamim Hossain, and Hasan Mahmud made a comeback to the Bangladesh ODI side, while uncapped Tanvir Islam was also picked as the Bangladesh Cricket Board announced a 16-member squad for the forthcoming three-match series against Sri Lanka on Monday.听
This will be the first series under Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who replaced Najmul Hossain Shanto as the captain of the ODI side prior to the Sri Lanka tour.听
Liton was dropped from the last Champions Trophy squad as he was going through a slump in the format. Liton then played in the Dhaka Premier League, where he managed 237 runs at an average of 39.50 in six innings.听
However, chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain said that Liton was given the opportunity in part because he was recently named as the Bangladesh T20I captain.
鈥楲iton was not in the last series as he was going through a bad patch. But time is the best healer,鈥� Ashraf said during a press conference at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Monday.听
鈥楤esides, as he鈥檚 the captain of the T20 side now, we can assume that he will be in the role till the T20 World Cup next year. We think that ODI cricket is an ideal platform to spend some time in the middle.鈥�
Left-handed batter Naim, who previously played eight ODIs until September 2023, was picked as the backup opener, where he made the cut ahead of Soumya Sarkar.听
According to Ashraf, Naim changed his batting style to suit the intensity required at the moment.听
He accumulated 618 runs at an average of 61.80 and a strike rate of 121.89 during the last DPL, where he was the third-highest run getter.听
Ashraf said, 鈥榃e want someone to bat with higher intensity. Tanzid [Hasan] and Parvez [Hossain] are complementing each other in that regard. Naim might not have been in international cricket in the recent past, but he was informed to bat that way.鈥�
鈥楤ut it will be a challenge for him to meet the demand of international cricket,鈥� he added.听
Apart from Soumya, left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed was also axed from the squad that played in the Champions Trophy. Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah announced their retirement from the format soon after the tournament.听
Shamim Hossain and Hasan Mahmud came to fill up the vacant spots, while Tanvir was picked, as this time the team would consist of 16 members. 听听
Meanwhile, this will also mark the return of Taskin Ahmed, who has recently recovered from an injury. Ashraf said that there might be some restrictions around the pacer, as he would not play all the matches.听
Bangladesh are currently playing the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, where the second Test will begin on June 25.听
The three ODIs will be played on July 2, 5 and 8. The first two ODIs will be held at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, while the third match will be held in Pallekele.
Squad: Mehidy Hasan Miraz (captain), Parvez Hossain, Tanzid Hasan, Mohammad Naim, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Liton Das, Jaker Ali, Rishad Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Nahid Rana, Tanvir Islam.听
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