Reports: Najmul Hossain Shanto likely to miss ODI series decider against Sri Lanka, citing quad injury

Bangladesh’s top-order batter Najmul Hossain Shanto is reportedly set to miss the third and final ODI against Sri Lanka in Pallekele due to a quad injury sustained during the second game of the series. With the ODI series level at 1-1, his absence could be a major blow to Bangladesh’s hopes of scripting a historic series win on Sri Lankan soil.

Shanto, who failed to complete his fielding duties in the previous match, is under close observation by the team physio. Although he did participate in the training session, according to the Cricbuzz report, he was not entirely comfortable while running and asked for assistance from physio Bayzidul Islam during the nets. A final call on his availability will be made after observing him in the final practice session ahead of the decider.

"We can only say something about him after the practice session [Shanto] because it is important to see how he reacts in the net and elsewhere in the training session ahead of the game," a source aware of the development told Cricbuzz.

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Shanto dropped from T20I squad

If Shanto is ruled out, left-handed opener Mohammad Naim is expected to be part of the XI. Naim recently made a comeback to the national team after two years

and is coming off a solid domestic season where he topped the run charts in both the BPL and NCL T20s.

Earlier in 2025, Shanto stepped down from the T20I captaincy after a string of poor performances and has now been dropped from the squad for the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka. In 21 T20Is this year, the southpaw averaged just 18.84 with only one half-century. The 26-year-old, after losing the Test series against the same opponents, stepped down from the captaincy duties. 

On the other hand, Sri Lanka are expected to make some changes. Batting coach Thilina Kandamby revealed that the surface in Pallekele is likely to be batting-friendly. However, both teams will be worried about rain interruptions, which have affected several ODIs at the venue in recent times.