Mortaza ruled out of Zimbabwe ODIs

Mashrafe Mortaza has been ruled out of the three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe. His latest injury, a fat pad contusion on his left heel, is keeping him out of action for yet another international tour, after he had missed the limited overs leg of the Sri Lanka tour as well.

"According to the assessment of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) medical team, [Mashrafe] Mortaza has not fully recovered from the injury and still feels pain," said chief selector Akram Khan. "There is a risk of him aggravating the injury if he returns to play, and he could become susceptible to new injuries also.

"Under the circumstances, we felt it was best to allow him more time to continue with his rehabilitation programme. He will not be considered for selection for the ODI series in Zimbabwe."

He suffered the injury during the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) final earlier this year. It has already been more than two months since he has been into his recovery, which seemed innocuous when it first occurred. But Mashrafe has a history of leg injuries and his surgery count is already in the double figures.

Mashrafe's last international appearance was the fourth ODI against West Indies last year, and his last Test appearance was in 2009.