Sunzamul, Shuvagata called in to Bangladesh ODI squad

Bangladesh have drafted in uncapped left-arm spinner Sunzamul Islam and recalled allrounder Shuvagata Hom to the 16-man ODI squad for the three match series against Sri Lanka starting on March 25. Mahmudullah remained in the ODI squad after the BCB president Nazmul Hassan insisted he wouldn't be dropped from the format.

There were reports in some Bangla newspapers on Monday that Mahmudullah would be dropped from the ODI and T20 squads. From the squad that played against New Zealand in December, Bangladesh have axed Mehedi Hasan and Tanbir Hayder, both spinning allrounders.

Sunzamul's inclusion comes on the back of his exceptional form in domestic cricket in the last five seasons. In the recently-concluded domestic first-class competition, he took 25 wickets, including his first 9-wicket haul in an innings. He is also a handy batsman down the order.

Shuvagata has also been in decent form in the domestic first-class tournament. He made 265 runs with one century, and took 25 wickets. However, he last played an ODI in 2011.

Wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan has been retained in the squad. He had played the last two ODIs in New Zealand after Mushfiqur Rahim was injured in the first game.

Bangladesh ODI squad: Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Sabbir Rahman, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Subashis Roy, Sunzamul Islam, Shuvagata Hom, Nurul Hasan