Afif, Nayeem new faces in Bangladesh ODI team
Afif Hossain and Mohammad Naim will be the new faces in Bangladesh squad for the first and second ODI of three-match series against Zimbabwe beginning with March 1 in Sylhet.
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Sunday announced the squad where seven players from the prior ODI squad have already been left out and five players have made a comeback with the new faces included.
The players who've been left out are- Sabbir Rahman, Farhad Reza, Mosaddek Hossain, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Rubel Hossain, Taskin Ahmed and Soumya Sarkar, and the players who came back to the squad are- Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Mohammad Saifuddin, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Liton Das and Al Amin Hossain while the new faces are Afif Hossain and Mohammad Naim.
Both Afif and Naim played for the Tigers in T20 Internationals nevertheless they got their maiden call to the ODI side for the first time.
Mashrafe was named as the captain of the ODI team again. Within the last ODI series in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh were led by Tamim Iqbal as the standard captain Mashrafe suffered a blow on his hand before the tour.
“It’s great to have Mashrafe back as his experience and leadership are vital for our ODI cricket. Saifuddin is also an integral to the team’s balance,” said Minhazul Abedin, chief selector of Bangladesh, told within an official statement.
Minhazul also said “We'd to make certain adjustments in the last ODI series and numerous cricketers were unavailable because of various reasons but I’m happy now with a fit pool of players.”
“Shanto’s current form in international and domestic cricket gets him in to the team while Naim and Afif are also part of our long term arrange for the shorter version,” he added.
Al Amin Hossain, who was simply sent back home through the 2015 World Cup in Australia, enjoyed a resurgence to the national ODI team after a gap of five years, while Saifuddin returned aside after recovering from a back injury.
The ODI series will take place at Sylhet International Stadium on March 1, 3 and 6. The first two games of the series will kick off at 1pm as the last match will be played from 2pm.
Bangladesh ODI squad: Mashrafe Bin Mortaza (Captain), Tamim Iqbal, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun, Liton Das, Taijul Islam, Afif Hossain, Mohammad Naim, Al Amin Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Shafiul Islam, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mustafizur Rahman.
