Bangladesh Cricket Team have Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman in their 23-member preliminary squad for the upcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka. Incidentally, Shakib and Mustafizur skipped the ongoing two-match Test series to participate in the ongoing 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Shakib missed the Test series, having been granted leave by the Bangladesh Cricket Board to play in the IPL, in which he is part of the Kolkata Knight Riders. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) also gave the NOC to Mustafizur Rahman, who plays for Rajasthan Royals, a franchise that has lost its several overseas players. If the left-arm pacers leave the bubble to join national commitments – Rajasthan will be left with only a handful of overseas options.
Shakib Al Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman to miss last week of IPL 2021
The preliminary squad also sees the return of Imrul Kayes, who last played an ODI back in 2018. Meanwhile, the training camp begins on May 2 and will run until May 9 before they go for a nine-day Eid break. With IPL 2021 final scheduled on May 30, Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman are expected to miss the last week of the lucrative tournament. However, they will not join the training camp.
The three-match ODI series is expected to commence from May 23 and is a part of the ICC ODI World Cup Super League. So far, Sri Lanka are yet to open their account, while Bangladesh has won and lost three each.
Bangladesh’s preliminary 23-man squad for the ODI series:
Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Naim, Imrul Kayes, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nasum Ahmed, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Shohidul Islam.
