Bangladesh squad for New Zealand ODI series announced

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has announced the 15-member squad for the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand. Team Bangladesh is set to tour New Zealand for a 3-match ODI series, that will be followed up by a 3-match Test series. The first ODI will be played on February 13, 2019. The last time when the Asian side had played against the Black Caps in New Zealand, they had failed to win a single match.

It was clean drubbing that they had faced across the three formats of the game during the 2016-17 tour. This time around, the Bangladeshi squad would be hopeful of coming up with improved performances. The selectors have named a well-balanced squad with veterans and the relatively newer faces on the blocks. Mashrafe Mortaza will continue to lead the side and Shakib Al Hasan will be his deputy.

The squad is predominantly the same that had played against the touring Windies in the recently concluded ODI series, which the hosts had won 2-1. From the squad that played against the Windies, the players who have missed out on the flight to New Zealand are Nazmul Islam, Abu Hider Rony, Ariful Haque and Imrul Kayes.

They have been replaced by Taskin Ahmed, Sabbir Rahman and Naveem Hasan. The squad has been trimmed from a capacity of 16 to 15 members. The key focus would be on the middle-order batter Sabbir Rahman, who would be staging his comeback in the series.

Rahman would be returning back in action after having served his suspension period of 6 months. The suspension was imposed on him for his continuous indisciplined off-the-field conduct.

Currently, the players are engaged in the ongoing edition of the Bangladesh Premier League. On the other hand, the Kiwi side is hosting team India for a limited overs series. They were recently beaten by 8 wickets in the first ODI.

Bangladesh ODI squad for New Zealand series:

Mashrafe Mortaza (C), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das, Shakib al Hasan (VC) , Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Mehidy Hasan, Md Mithun, Md Saifuddin, Taskin Ahmed, Sabbir Rahman and Nayeem Hasan.

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