Dhaka – Right-handed batsman Anamul Haque Bijoy and left-arm spinner Taijul Islam were included in the 14-member squad announced on Tuesday ahead of the Sri Lanka tour.
They have been called back to replace Shakib Al Hasan and Liton Das, who will miss this series for personal reasons.
Anamul recently hit a ton for Bangladesh A in a four-day game against Afghanistan A in Khulna. Taijul took eight wickets in an innings for BCB XI in Mini Ranji Trophy in India against Vidarbha Cricket Association XI.
Anamul last played an ODI back in 2018 during Bangladesh’s West Indies tour. He played 37 ODIs till date and scored 1,038 runs with three fifties and as many centuries.
The last time Taijul played an ODI was in 2016 during Afghanistan’s Bangladesh tour. He has so far played four ODIs and scalped five wickets with the best figures of five for 11.
However, BCB overlooked right-arm pacer Abu Jayed Rahi who was in the last ODI squad.
“Anamul recently struck a ton for Bangladesh A and Taijul did well in India, this is why we have considered them for Sri Lanka tour,” Minhajul Abedin, the chief selector of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), told the media at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
“We tried not to make many changes in the team. This series is very important to us. We will play this series keeping a win in mind,” Minhajul added.
This will be Tigers’ first campaign after the world cup where they finished eighth.
Bangladesh expected to reach the semifinals but inconsistency in performance ended their hopes. However, Shakib’s performance was one of the best in the tournament.
Bangladesh will fly to Sri Lanka on July 20.
14-member squad: Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Anamul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Sabbir Rahman, Mohammad Mithun, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mohammad Saifuddin, Taijul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and Mustafizur Rahman.UNB
