Fast bowler Mrittunjoy Chowdhury was included in Bangladesh's squad for the three-match ODI series against Ireland as the only uncapped player, as the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced a 15-member squad on Sunday.
All of the three matches which are part of the ICC World Cup Super League will be held in Chelmsford in England instead of Ireland, which will face inclement weather in May.
The three matches are scheduled to be held on May 9, 12 and 14 at the Cloud County Ground in Chelmsford.
Bangladesh axed batter Afif Hossain, Zakir Hasan, fast bowler Taskin Ahmed and left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed from the last series against the same opponent at home. Bangladesh won that three-match series by 2-0 after the second game was washed out due to rain.
Taskin and Zakir sustained an injury which indeed left them out of the team. Afif was in the squad for the Ireland series for the first two ODIs before being excluded ahead of the third match. Nasum was replaced by fellow left-arm spinner Taijul Islam, while Mahmudullah Riyad continued to be overlooked.
Mrittunjoy, who has been in superb form of late at domestic and aged level cricket, would replace Taskin indeed.
"He has been in superb form. So a chance for him was due. Since Taskin was ruled out because of an injury, we thought he should get an opportunity. I hope he will grab the opportunity with both hands to bolster our fast bowling pipeline further," chief selector Minhajul Abedin said here today.
Meanwhile, Liton Das and Mustafizur Rahman were also named in the squad, meaning, they would miss their IPL matches for their respective sides-Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals in the last part of the tournament. Shakib Al Hasan had already pulled out his name from the IPL.
Squad: Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Rony Talukdar, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Yasir Ali Chowdhury, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Ebadot Hossain Chowdhury, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Mohammad Mrittunjoy Chowdhury.
Source: BSS