BD rest Shakib, retain Mashrafe for SL ODIs

DHAKA: Bangladesh are resting all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan but have retained skipper Mashrafe Mortaza for the three-match One-day International (ODI) series against Sri Lanka later this month, officials said Tuesday.

Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam and top-order batsman Anamul Haque were also recalled to replace Shakib and batsman Liton Das, who has been rested for personal reasons. Medium pace Abu Jayed, who was part of World Cup squad but did not play any games, was the other player to miss out.

“Now that the World Cup chapter is over and we are starting a new season. This series is very important for us,” said Minhajul Abedin Nannu. “We didn’t make big changes from the World Cup squad here. As we don’t have Shakib and Liton, we included two players in their places and dropped one player,” he said.

Bangladesh finished eighth in the World Cup after just three wins — against struggling South Africa, West Indies and Afghanistan. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) sacked coach Steve Rhodes after the team returned home last week and announced it will not renew the contract of bowling coach Courtney Walsh.

Mashrafe, who claimed just one wicket in eight matches, shouldered the responsibility for the team’s lacklustre performance, but the BCB has kept faith on him. The teams will play three ODIs on July 26, 28 and 31 at the Premadasa International Stadium in Colombo.

Squad: Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarker, Anamul Haque, Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mosaddek Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Mehidy Hasan, Taijul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mustafizur Rahman.