Nazmul Hossain Shanto is one of the five players who have been excluded from the Bangladesh squad that toured New Zealand earlier this year as the national elections announced the contingent for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka on home soil.
Shanto, who scored a brilliant 163 against Sri Lanka during the first Test in Pallekele, has been dropped from the ODI set-up due to poor form in the format.
Shanto, who was a part of the ODI squad that toured New Zealand, has managed just 93 runs in his last eight matches which includes 38 runs in three innings during his most recent outing.
“Shanto hasn’t done well in ODIs so we thought of giving him a break,” Minhajul Abedin told ESPNcricinfo.
The other omissions from the Bangladesh squad are Hasan Mahmud, Al Amin Hossain, Rubel Hossain, and Nasim Ahmed.
Hasan Magnus and Rubel Hossain are both recovering from back injuries while Mohammad Naim, who played T20Is against New Zealand, is among the four standby players.
All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who did not feature in the white-ball series in New Zealand, has been added to the squad.
“We beat West Indies quite comprehensively in the last home series, so we didn’t change the squad too much,” Bangladesh Chief selector Minhajul Abedin told media on Thursday. “We have almost kept every one. The selection panel hopes that we play better cricket against Sri Lanka,” he added.
The chief selector is confident that the squad will shrug off the 0-3 defeat that they suffered in New Zealand and emulate the performance that they had displayed against the West Indies at home last year.
“Things are a little different at home and we have done well against them [Sri Lanka] in the past. The team always feels better with the best players. Everyone is fit, and playing in the practice match,” said Abedin.
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