Shahadat and Kayes dropped for ODIs

Fast bowler Shahadat Hossain and batsman Imrul Kayes have been left out of Bangladesh's one-day squad for the forthcoming tri-series at home as well as the three ODIs against Zimbabwe. The only new face in the 14-member squad is Rubel Hossain, the right-arm fast bowler from Chittagong Division.

"Rubel has performed well for the Under-19, Academy and Bangladesh A sides and been impressive in the domestic first-class level also," Rafiqul Alam, the chief selector, said. "He has extra pace and a deceptive sling-shot action. He is an attacking bowler and comes in for Sajedul Islam who was in the Test squad and is more of a longer version bowler."

Alam explained that Shahadat was dropped due to his expensive economy rate of 6.63 in 16 ODIs in 2008 but was confident he as well as Kayes will return to the fold soon.

"Shahadat is by no means out of our plans and we believe that returning to domestic cricket will be beneficial for him at this stage and I am sure he will be back in the national side soon," Alam said.

"Unfortunately Imrul Kayes had to give way as he has not managed to deliver despite getting opportunities. He will remain in frame though as he is someone we think will perform in the future."

Returning to the ODI side after a gap of three years is Enamul Haque jnr, the left-arm spinner. Enamul made a comeback to the Test squad in the two-Test series against Sri Lanka which concluded on Tuesday and picked up two wickets. Alam said the left-arm spinner Suhrawadi Shuvo - the leading wicket-taker in the National Cricket League first-class competition with 59 wickets - was also considered but the selection panel opted for Enamul's experience.

"We don't have Abdur Razzak at the moment so we needed a specialist back up," Alam said. "Besides Enamul's record against Zimbabwe is very good indeed. We also thought about Suhrawadi Shuvo but couldn't find a spot for him."

Also rewarded with a comeback is the middle-order batsman Mahmudullah, who was dropped for the South Africa tour late last year. He ended the first-class season as the second-highest run-scorer with 710 runs at 54.61.

The tri-series, also featuring Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, starts on Saturday with Zimbabwe taking on the home side. Zimbabwe stay back for the three-match ODI series which begins on January 19 and ends on the 23rd.

Squad: Tamim Iqbal, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Ashraful (capt), Raqibul Hassan, Shakib Al Hasan, Mehrab Hossain jnr, Naeem Islam, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mashrafe Mortaza, Mahbubul Alam, Nazmul Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Enamul Haque jnr