Tamim, Mahmudullah return for NZ series; Shakib rested

Seniors Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah are among those recalled for Bangladesh's first two of the three upcoming ODIs against New Zealand in Dhaka next week. And while they have returned, the selectors opted to rest Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud and Shoriful Islam ahead of the World Cup.

Meanwhile, Shamim Hossain, Afif Hossain and Mohammad Naim were dropped, even as Soumya Sarkar and Nurul Hasan, and the uncapped trio of Zakir Hasan, Rishad Hossain and Khaled Ahmed, earned call-ups.

"The decision to rest players was taken in consideration of the World Cup in India, which will be a long tournament, [and] where ensuring the mental and physical fitness of the cricketers will be very important," chief selector Minhajul Abedin said. "The series against New Zealand provides us an opportunity to take a look at some other players as well ahead of this major event.

"The squad is a blend of experience and youth, and only Zakir, Khaled and Rishad have not featured in ODIs yet. Zakir was very close to playing against Ireland in March before he suffered an unfortunate injury. Khaled has done well in his List A career, and Rishad offers a different dimension to our bowling attack."

Bangladesh ODI squad: Litton Das (capt), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Anamul Haque, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Nurul Hasan, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Zakir Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Syed Khaled Ahmed

Source: ESPNcricinfo