Five Changes Announced for Sri Lanka ODIs
Bangladesh have revamped their ODI squad for the upcoming three-match series against Sri Lanka, with Litton Das making a comeback. The changes come following the retirements of senior players Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim, who ended their ODI careers after the team’s early exit from the Champions Trophy.
Litton’s Recall Driven by Leadership and Potential
Chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain explained Litton’s inclusion, noting that his recent appointment as Bangladesh’s T20I captain played a key role in the decision.
“𝑳𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝑫𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒅 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒓,” 𝑨𝒔𝒉𝒓𝒂𝒇 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑯𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑻20 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝒔𝒐 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝑻20 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑪𝒖𝒑. 𝑰𝒇 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎, 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒍𝒆.”
Despite a poor run—only 35 runs in eight ODIs across recent tours—selectors are hopeful that extended time at the crease will help Litton regain his rhythm and confidence.
Other Inclusions and Exclusions
Bangladesh have also brought back Mohammad Naim, Shamim Hossain, Tanvir Islam, and Hasan Mahmud. Among those dropped are Soumya Sarkar and Nasum Ahmed.
“𝑵𝒂𝒊𝒎 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆-𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔,” 𝑨𝒔𝒉𝒓𝒂𝒇 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅. “𝑯𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒂 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒓 𝑳𝒆𝒂𝒈𝒖𝒆.”
Soumya Sarkar’s exclusion was attributed to recurring injuries.
“𝑯𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝑨𝑪𝑳 𝒊𝒏𝒋𝒖𝒓𝒚, 𝒂 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒎. 𝑾𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒔,” 𝑨𝒔𝒉𝒓𝒂𝒇 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅.
Managing Pace Bowlers’ Workload
The selectors have included five pace bowlers in the squad, mindful of fitness concerns around Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, and Nahid Rana.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒐𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒅𝒔,” 𝑨𝒔𝒉𝒓𝒂𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒅.
Match Schedule
The three ODIs will take place on:
- July 2 and 5 at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
- July 8 at Pallekele
Bangladesh ODI Squad vs Sri Lanka
Mehidy Hasan Miraz (captain), Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Mohammad Naim, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Litton Das, Jaker Ali, Shamim Hossain, Rishad Hossain, Tanvir Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Nahid Rana, Hasan Mahmud
Also Read: Bumrah Ready to Lead India Despite Injury Concerns