The Bangladesh Cricket Board on Monday announced that all-rounder Mehidy Hasan will lead the 15-member ODI squad in the absence of regular captain Najmul Hossain in the upcoming three-match series scheduled from December 8 in St. Kitts is.

Cricbuzz earlier reported that Mushfiqur Rahim and Najmul Hossain were unlikely to feature in the ODIs as they recovered from their respective injuries while the team management was sweating over Towhid Hridoy after he sustained a groin injury while playing football.

“All-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz will now lead the Bangladesh team in ODIs for the first time in the absence of Najmul Hossain Shanto, who is still recovering from a groin injury,” BCB said in a statement.

“Hridoy had complained of pain in his right groin and subsequent examinations confirmed the presence of an illness. He has been advised to take some rest and we will examine him again in two weeks to determine his readiness to play,” added BCB sports doctor Monzur Hossain Chowdhury.

Wicket-keeper batsman Liton Das, Parvez Hossain Emon, Afif Hossain Dhrubo, Hasan Mahmud and Tanzim Hasan Sakib returned to the ODI squad. Parvez was called up against the West Indies back in 2021 but didn’t get a game during the series.

Meanwhile, along with the trio Mushfiqur, Najmul and Towhid, Mustafizur Rahman and Zakir Hasan were also not selected for the series. While Mustafizur wanted to take a break from the series to be with his wife, who is expected to give birth to their first child in December, Zakir was excluded for technical reasons.

“Colleague left-hander Zakir Hasan, who was part of the team in the ODI series against Afghanistan in the UAE last month, has been dropped,” BCB said in the statement.

squad: Mehidy Hasan Miraz (Captain), Litton Kumer Das (WK), Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Soumya Sarkar, Parvez Hossain Emon, Md Mahmudullah, Jaker Ali Anik, Afif Hossain Dhrubo, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Nahid Rana