Bangladesh leave out Litton Das for ODI series decider against Sri Lanka

Bangladesh have made a significant change to their squad for the third and final ODI against Sri Lanka, dropping opener Litton Das and including wicketkeeper-batter Jaker Ali. With the series level at 1-1, the third ODI in Chattogram on Monday, March 18, will serve as the decider in this thrilling bilateral series between the two teams.

The Bangladesh team management took a bold decision to release veteran opener Litton Das from their squad, advising him to play in the ongoing Dhaka Premier League. Notably, Litton Das's recent form has been the reason for his omission, with the opener failing to make a significant impact in the first two ODIs against Sri Lanka, registering scores of 0 and 0. Additionally, his performance in the T20I series was also poor, with scores of 0, 36, and 7.

"With the series now hanging in the balance, we believe Jaker Ali's addition will provide the team with more options and flexibility in the middle order. Considering Litton's recent performance in white-ball cricket, we opted for this change, mindful of the availability of two other capable openers within the squad," Gazi Ashraf Hossain, the chairman of the Bangladesh selection panel was quoted as saying in a BCB release.

Jaker Ali, who impressed everyone with a solid 68 in the first T20I against Sri Lanka, has been drafted into the squad. The 28-year-old wicketkeeper-batter has an impressive List A record, having scored 1918 runs at an average of 34.87 from 84 appearances. With Anamul Haque and Tanzid Hasan as the other two openers in the squad, one of them is likely to partner Soumya Sarkar, who showcased his form with a fluent 66-ball 68 in the previous ODI.

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Sri Lanka to play two Tests against Bangladesh after the completion of ODI series

Meanewhile, Sri Lanka are currently on a tour of Bangladesh and have won the T20I series 2-1 before the hosts claimed victory in the first ODI. However, the visitors bounced back strongly in the second ODI, setting up a brilliant finale in the three-match series. After the conclusion of the ODI series, both teams will also play two Test matches starting from March 22.

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Bangladesh squad for 3rd ODI:

Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Anamul Haque, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mustafizur Rahman, Jaker Ali