Bangladesh's selectors on Monday (January 4) named a 24-man preliminary squad for the ODI series against West Indies later this month and there was one notable omission in it.
Mashrafe Mortaza, who has 270 wickets to his name in the 50-over format and led the country in 87 ODIs, has been left out from the squad.
One leading name, however, that made it to both the preliminary Test and ODI squads was Shakib Al Hasan, who is back in the national reckoning after serving his one-year ban for not reporting a corrupt approach.
According to a report published in ESPNcricinfo, the selected players will participate in a training camp and play two practice matches on January 14 and 16, before the squad is reduced for the ODI series that starts on January 20.
This is going to be Bangladesh's first international assignment post the COVID-19 hiatus.
Talking about Mortaza’s exclusion, chief selector Minhajul Abedin said that it was a collective call by the selectors and the team management.
"We respect him, he has done a lot for the country," ESPNcricinfo quoted Abedin as saying. "I have spoken to him in detail, so there's not going to be any misunderstanding. It was a tough decision but we have to consider the reality, and keep looking forward. We took a combined decision after long discussions with team management, and considering everything [decided to] to put off Mashrafe.
"We discussed everything. We didn't leave anything out. Everyone participated in the discussion including the fitness trainer and bowling coach. For the player who replaces him, it will be a fresh start. We have to expose our young players," he added.
Having made his international debut in 2001, Mashrafe Mortaza has represented Bangladesh in 36 Tests, 220 ODIs and 54 T20Is.
Under Mortaza, Bangladesh made giant strides in 50-over cricket as they made it to the semi-finals of 2015 World Cup and 2017 Champions Trophy.
Commenting on his future, the chief selector said that the decision to retire or play on lies with Mortaza
"Whether he continues playing or not, is entirely up to him. We cannot really say anything about what his performance is going to be," Abedin said.
Preliminary squad for ODI series: Tamim Iqbal Khan, Shakib Al Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim, Md Mithun, Litton Das, Md Mahmud Ullah, Afif Hossain Dhrubo, Musaddek Hossain Saikat, Soumya Sarkar, Yasir Ali Chowdhury, Naim Sheikh, Taskin Ahmed, Mohammad Al Amin Hossain, Md. Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Saif Uddin, Mustafizur Rahman, Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nasum Ahmed, Mohammad Parvez Hossain Emon, Mahadi Hasan, Rubel Hossain.
Preliminary squad for Test series: Momimul Haque Showrab, Tamim Iqbal Khan, Shakib Al Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim, Md Mithun, Litton Kumer Das, Yasir Ali Chowdhury, Mohammed Saif Hasan, Abu Jayed Chowdhury Rahi, Taskin Ahmed, Syed Khaled Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman, Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Quazi Nurul Hasan Sohan, Shadman Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Ebadot Hossain Chowdhury.
(Inputs from ESPNcricinfo)
