Afif, Naim earn maiden ODI call-ups as Bangladesh announce squad for Zimbabwe series

Bangladesh have called Afif Hossain and Mohammad Naim Sheikh in the One-Day International squad for the first time ahead of their home series against Zimbabwe.

Captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and pacer Mohammad Saifuddin have returned from injuries with the Bangladesh Cricket Board bringing seven changes to the squad from the last series in Sri Lanka.

The BCB announced the 15-member squad on Sunday for the first two matches of the series to be played in Sylhet on Mar 1 and 3. The final match will be played in the same venue on Mar 6.

Liton Das has returned after a leave of absence for his wedding following the World Cup. Batsman Najmul Hossain Shanto and pacer Al Amin Hossain are the two other inclusions.

Shanto scored 20 runs in his last three innings in the 2018 Asia Cup tournament. Al Amin played his last ODI against Zimbabwe in Dhaka in 2015.

Taskin Ahmed and Farhad Reza, who had been included in the squad for the Sri Lanka series but not in the playing XI, have been dropped.

The others from the last series left out for the upcoming one are Enamul Haque, Rubel Hossain and Sabbir Rahman.

“It’s a great thing to get Mashrafe back. His experience and leadership are important for our one-day cricket. Saifuddin is very important for team balance,” Chief Selector Minhazul Abedin said.

Shanto’s form in recent international and domestic matches led the BCB to include him in the squad, Minhazul said.

The Shanto-Naim-Afif trio are parts of Bangladesh’s longterm plan for shorter formats of the game, the chief selector added.