Bangladesh drop a key player for the remainder of the tri-series

Bangladesh have announced the updated squad for the third and fourth ODI of the ongoing tri-series against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. The team has done exceedingly well so far winning both their matches quite convincingly. They are now the favourites to win the series and have almost sealed their place in the final which will be played on January 27. However, they have pruned the initial 16-man squad to 15 dropping a key player from the team.

The hosts defeated Zimbabwe by eight wickets in the opening encounter of the series and then thrashed Sri Lanka by a whopping 163 runs to earn a bonus point. They are currently at the top of the points table with 9 points and are almost assured of a place in the final.

However, despite such clinical performances, the selectors have decided to leave out Imrul Kayes from the squad. He didn’t feature in any of the ODIs in this series. Reportedly, he was ruled out of the first game against the team in red owing to a thumb injury. Now despite being fit, he has been left out which is quite baffling.

Chief selector explains the move

Imrul Kayes last played in the format for Bangladesh in October last year during their tour to South Africa. Shakib Al Hasan took up his number 3 spot in the batting line-up and did well in both the games. The chief selector Minhajul Abedin confirmed that Imrul has been sent to feature in Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL) which is a franchise based four-day tournament. The step has been taken in order to keep himself prepared for the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka.

The Test series is slated to commence on January 31 Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong. While the second Test will be played in Dhaka where the tri-series is currently being played. Post the tussle in whites, both the teams will clash in the couple of T20 Internationals to conclude the tour.

Updated Squad: Mashrafe Mortaza(c), Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Anamul Haque, Nasir Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Abul Hasan, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mohammad Mithun, Sunzamul Islam

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