Bangladesh ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal believes top-order batsman Nazmul Hossain Shanto needs a break from the 50-over format to rediscover his form by scoring runs in the domestic circuit.
Shanto has played eight ODIs for the Tigers so far, scoring only 98 runs with a meager average of 11.62.
Those eight matches were against Afghanistan (two), India (one), Zimbabwe (two) and the West Indies (three).
In the last home series against a second-string Windies side, Shanto played all three matches and batted at a crucial position, No 3.
But the left-hander failed to score big, managing one, 17 and 20 in the three games.
In the last series against New Zealand away, Shanto was in the squad but did not get selected.
And now for the home series against Sri Lanka, Shanto has been dropped from the ODI squad and was not even considered for the standby list.
Meanwhile, ODI captain Tamim believes Shanto has a lot to offer as a player in the shorter formats and that he is one of the future prospects of Bangladesh cricket.
Tamim is of the opinion that Shanto just needs a break to come back strong in the ODI fold.
“Shanto has played eight-nine ODIs (eight ODIs). Unfortunately, he has not performed in the way the team management expected from him. But personally I think, and also the team management thinks that he is one of the players who is the future of Bangladesh cricket. Not in the squad for one series does not mean the end of the road for a player like Shanto,” Tamim said.
“As a captain I believe Shanto has a lot to offer to the team as a player. Maybe he needs a break from this format at the moment. Let him score in domestic cricket and then he will return to the squad more strongly. Dropping from the squad for just one series does not mean that he is out of our plans,” he concluded.
