Bangladesh announced squad for Zimbabwe ODIs with a surprise inclusion

Bangladesh named Fazle Mahmud Rabbi as a replacement for Shakib Al Hasan.

Mushfiqur Rahim to play in the home ODIs this month against Zimbabwe | Getty Images

Bangladesh has announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming three-match One Day International series against Zimbabwe with the only surprise inclusion of uncapped batting all-rounder Fazle Mahmud Rabbi on Thursday (October 11).

Mushfiqur Rahim, who was undergoing rehabilitation for his hip injury, has recovered in time and been named in the squad while Rabbi has been named as a replacement for Shakib Al Hasan for the home series. On the other hand, Tamim Iqbal is still not match-ready, recovering from injury at the moment.

Bangladesh has also recalled the veteran pace bowling all-rounder Saifuddin for the home ODIs, while Asia Cup 2018 members Mominul Haque, Mosaddek Hossain, and Soumya Sarkar failed to make it to the squad. In the absence of Tamim, the Tigers chose to go ahead with Imrul Kayes against Zimbabwe.

Minhajul Abedin, Bangladesh's chief selector, told Cricbuzz, “We have included Rabbi as a replacement for Shakib Al Hasan because he can bat and also bowl left-arm spin. He is performed consistently in the domestic circuit and also played well in the Ireland tour with Bangladesh A recently.”

He signed off by saying, “It is true that Saifuddin did not manage to impress at the international stage but I'm confident he has left those memories behind. Our head coach was impressed with him and since we need a pace bowling all-rounder, why not give him a try as we are still looking for someone who can bat down the order as well as a bowl with good pace. We opted for Imrul as there is no Tamim around and we need to have some experience at the top.”

The One Day International series will get underway with a day-night affair at Dhaka on October 21, followed with the second and final ODI on October 24 and 26 respectively in Chittagong.

Bangladesh Squad:
Masrafe Mortaza (C), Liton Das, Imrul Kayes, Nazmul Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah, Ariful Haque, Mehidy Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Nazmul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Abu Haider, Saifuddin, Fazle Rabbi

(Input: Cricbuzz)

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 12 Oct, 2018

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