Bangladesh is currently playing a two-match Test series in Sri Lanka. The first Test ended in a draw while the second Test will begin from June 25th. The ODI series will kick start from 2nd July and in this regard Bangladesh have announced their squad.
Litton Das will be making his comeback in the ODI squad. Bangladesh have made 5 changes from their last one as two of the changes were forced since Mahmdullah and Mushfiqur Rehman announced retirement from the ODIs after the premature exit from the Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan.
Gazi Ashraf Hossain, the chief selector, stated that Litton’s recent selection as the Bangladesh T20I captain was a contributing factor in his opportunity. Before being discarded, including for the Champions Trophy, Litton scored just 35 runs in eight One-Day Internationals (ODIs) between the December 2023 tour of New Zealand and the December 2024 trip of the West Indies.
“Litton Das was in a bad patch but time is the best healer. He is the T20 captain, so we can consider him till the next T20 World Cup,” Ashraf said. “If someone has to return to form, it is best to spend a long time in the middle. We feel that Litton can take his form from ODIs to T20Is.”
The selectors have also recalled Mohammad Naim, Shamim Hossain, Tanvir Islam and Hasan Mahmud.
“Naim has shown that he can bat with the same intensity as our [recent] white-ball openers,” Ashraf said. “He has done well in the Dhaka Premier League. We also have someone like Soumya Sarkar, who has ten years of international experience. [He has been dropped because] we want to help him recover fully, so that he can come back properly.”
The top-order batter Naim played his last ODI in the September 2023 while it is maiden ODI call up for the left-arm spinner Tanvir, whose international experience is limited to six T20Is.
Five quick bowlers have been selected to manage Taskin Ahmed and Nahid Rana’s workload, Ashraf continued.
“We have included five fast bowlers in the ODI side as we have Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed are returning from injuries. We are also mindful of Nahid Rana’s workload management, so we have kept enough options to choose from.”
Ashraf explained the removal of Sarkar, one of the two active players to be left from the team along with Nasum Ahmed, saying,
“Soumya Sarkar has had three injuries in the last 12-15 months. He had an ACL injury against Sri Lanka last year. He had a finger injury in the West Indies. Recently, he suffered a back spasm when we were considering him for the UAE series. He didn’t recover in time, so he couldn’t play any matches. We couldn’t keep him in the side against Pakistan. We want him to recover fully, and return to consideration.”
The dates of the three ODIs are July 2, 5, and 8. The R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo will host the first two ODIs, while Pallekele will host the third game.
Bangladesh squad for ODI series vs Sri Lanka
Mehidy Hasan Miraz (capt), 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
