The Bangladesh players returned to training at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium (SBNS) yesterday after a day’s break following the conclusion of the second Test against New Zealand.
With the three-match ODI series beginning on October 29, Bangladesh have made four changes from the squad that lost 1-2 to Zimbabwe in May, the biggest of which is the inclusion of experienced paceman Mashrafe bin Mortaza, whose last ODI appearance came last year against the West Indies. Mortaza has been recovering from a heel injury he sustained in the last Bangladesh Premier League and has played little competitive cricket in recent times.
Opening batsman Shamsur Rahman Shuvo has also been included in the squad in the light of Anamul Haque’s failures in the two-match Test series.
“I was included in the squad as an opener but eventually it will be the team management that will decide where I will play. I will try to give my best wherever I bat. Anamul is junior to me in age but he is experienced in the international circuit and performed well in the last ODI game that he played,” Shamsur told the media at SBNS yesterday.
The last time the two sides met in an ODI series was in 2010 when home side Bangladesh recorded a historic 4-0 win. Asked if this would add to the pressure, Shamsur replied, “We performed well in the Test series so our aim will be to do the same in the ODI series. It has been three years now that we won the series 4-0 against them. But we will try and give our best in the series. I will try to give my best if I get the chance to play.
“I don’t think there is any pressure on us, rather I think they (New Zealand) are under more pressure. We have in mind that we won 4-0 against them but it is a new series starting on 29th and our aim will be to play good cricket,” he said.
Shamsur has thrived on the domestic circuit but has yet to make a mark in the international arena. The 25-year old made his Twenty20 debut for Bangladesh in March this year but has yet to play an ODI or Test match.
