Mustafizur injury forces late change as Bangladesh bowl in opener against New Zealand

Selection changes and a delayed toss mark a disrupted start to the series opener

A late injury to Mustafizur Rahman disrupted Bangladesh’s plans as they opted to bowl first in a reshuffled ODI opener against a heavily changed New Zealand side in Dhaka.

The start was delayed after Bangladesh coach Phil Simmons had to submit a revised team sheet to captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz, prompting confusion during the toss at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Friday.

It was later confirmed that Mustafizur had been withdrawn and replaced by Shoriful Islam.

Team operations manager Nafees Iqbal said Mustafizur “felt slight discomfort on his right knee during the warm-ups”.

Despite the setback, Bangladesh retained a three-man pace attack featuring Taskin Ahmed, Nahid Rana and Shoriful Islam.

New Zealand, meanwhile, fielded a heavily altered side, making eight changes from their last ODI against India in January.

Only Henry Nicholls, Will Young and Jayden Lennox remain from that match, while skipper Tom Latham himself returned to the ODI setup after a long gap, with his previous appearance coming in November 2025.

The reshuffle is largely due to player unavailability, with the New Zealand A team currently touring Sri Lanka for first-class and List A matches, while 18 national players are engaged in the IPL and PSL.

Bangladesh: Saif Hassan, Tanzid Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Litton Das (wk), Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (capt), Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Nahid Rana

New Zealand: Henry Nicholls, Will Young, Nick Kelly, Dean Foxcroft, Tom Latham (capt, wk), Muhammad Abbas, Josh Clarkson, Nathan Smith, Blair Tickner, Will O'Rourke, Jayden Lennox