Mushfiqur Rahim finds place in Bangladesh ODI squad for Zimbabwe series

Ace Bangladesh wicket-keeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim has overcome the injury scare to be named in his side’s 15-member squad for the upcoming three-game ODI series against Zimbabwe at home. Mashrafe Mortaza will lead the side in the series starting in Dhaka on October 21.

Rahim, 31, was undergoing rehabilitation for a hip injury and recovered in time for the next series. The diminutive batsman was in good touch with the bat in the recently held Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates, slamming 144 against Sri Lanka and 99 against Pakistan, falling short by a whisker to match India’s Shikhar Dhawan’s record of scoring two tons in the tournament.

Bangladesh lost the final of the tournament against India by 3 wickets.

Rahim, a former captain of the Bangladeshi side, is a veteran of 192 ODIs in which he has scored 5,130 runs at an average of around 34. He has six hundreds in the format and has effected 157 catches and 42 stumpings.

Bangladesh also called Fazle Mahmud, Mohammad Saifuddin

Bangladesh have also called uncapped 30-year-old batting all-rounder Fazle Mahmud for the series besides young bowling all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin. The hosts will miss two of their frontline players – opener Tamim Iqbal, who had a broken wrist in the first game of the Asia Cup, and ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who is undergoing a finger treatment.

After the three-game ODI series, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe will take on each other for a two-Test series between November 3 and 15. The African side will also play a one-day and three-day warm-up game ahead of the ODI series.
Bangladesh have met Zimbabwe 69 times in the 50-over format till now with the former having a 41-28 lead. The last time the African side toured Bangladesh was in 2015-16 when they lost a three-match series 0-3.

Here is the squad

Masrafe Mortaza (c), Liton Das, Nazmul Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim, Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Mithun, Rubel Hossain, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Ariful Haque, Mustafizur Rahman, Nazmul Islam, Abu Haider, Mohammad Saifuddin, Fazle Mahmud Rabbi

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