Tamim Iqbal returns to lead Bangladesh in ODI series against England

Bangladesh have announced a 14-man squad for the three-match ODI series against England, starting on March 1, 2023, in Dhaka. Tamim Iqbal has returned to the team after recovering from a groin injury that forced him to miss the home series against India.

Top-order batter Towhid Hridoy received a maiden call-up to the squad after a productive season in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). Hridoy hammered 403 runs in 13 games at 36.63, striking at 140.41 with five fifties. Taijul Islam has returned to the side as a like-for-like replacement for Nasum Ahmed, who has been dropped.

Addressing the selection decisions, Chief Selector Minhajul Abedin said, as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo:

"Towhid Hridoy has been doing well in the BPL. He was in our pool of potential players, and was part of the HP [High Performance] and Bangladesh A sides."

"Yasir remains in our thinking, as we plan to take another player in the squad. Nasum is being considered for another format, while we dropped Nurul and Shoriful due to form."

The others left out are Yasir Ali, Anamul Haque, Nurul Hasan, and Shoriful Islam. Anamul, who returned to the side against Zimbabwe in mid-2022, made only 33 runs in three innings against India. Yasir played only one game against India, while Nurul didn't play a game.

Tamim missed most of the BPL matches for the Khulna Tigers to keep himself fit for the England series. Taijul, who played only three ODIs in 2022, took a fifer against the West Indies. After the conclusion of the ODI series on March 6th, the Bangla Tigers' T20I series against England will take place from March 9th to 14th.

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Bangladesh squad to face England in three-game ODI series

New Zealand v Bangladesh - ODI Game 3

Tamim Iqbal (C), Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Ebadot Hossain, Taijul Islam, Towhid Hridoy