Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)-Mahmudullah and Anamul Haque have been recalled in Bangladesh’s ODI squad for the first two of the three matches against South Africa. Rony Talukdar, Mominul Haque and the injured Taskin Ahmed made way in the 14-man squad.
Mahmudullah had fractured his left index finger in June ahead of the India series and was out for more than a month. Chief selector Faruque Ahmed said that the physios had cleared Mahmudullah, reports ESPNcricinfo.
Anamul was out after injuring his right shoulder during the World Cup match against Scotland on March 5. He recovered from the shoulder operation to play three first-class matches for South Zone, scoring a hundred and three fifties. Mahmudullah, on the other hand, trained with the Bangladesh team during their T20 series against South Africa.
Talukdar could count himself unlucky after he was picked for the ODIs against Pakistan and India but only got to play the second T20 against South Africa in which he made 21 off 22 balls on debut. He sat out for six ODIs. Mominul, too, was left out without having played an ODI since the World Cup, while Taskin is still recovering from a left side tear.
Faruque said Anamul had discussions with the captain about his batting approach and would bat in the top order. But he said that Talukdar could still come back because he was among their preferred players. He added that although Litton Das and Anamul have similar roles, Litton was a better choice than Rony.
“We think [Anamul Haque] Bijoy is in form,” Faruque said. “We need him for a particular position. We discussed with the team management before picking him. Bijoy will play in the top order.
“Rony came in a circumstance where we didn’t have Bijoy and Mahmudullah. Soumya [Sarkar] was successful as an opener. We are thinking for these two matches, but it doesn’t necessarily mean he is out. He is among our best 17-18 players. He will return when we need him. Litton kept well against India, scored a couple of 30s in the ODIs and a 40-odd in the Test. Litton is more effective than Rony, so we kept him in the squad.”
The team is spin dependent with Mahmudullah and Nasir Hossain to provide assistance to the specialist spinners. Mashrafe Mortaza will lead the pace attack alongside Rubel Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman.
BANGLADESH ODI SQUAD: Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan (vice-captain), Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Litton Das, Jubair Hossain, Anamul Haque, Mahmudullah.
BBN/SK/AD