Mashrafee ruled out from Tri-series

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Mashrafee bin Mortaza

Bangladesh cricket fans suffered a big blow as BCB selectors confirmed that Captain Mashrafee Bin Mortaza was ruled out of Tri-Nation ODI series with once again World's number one all rounder Shakib Al Hasan holding the helm of the Bangladesh team, reports BSS.
BCB selectors announced the name of 15 players who will represent Bangladesh against mighty Indians and talented Sri Lankans in the Tri-nation series beginning in the capital on January 4th at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium(SBNS) in Mirpur.
Chief selector Mohammad Rafiqul Alam today announced the team at SBNS.
He said, "We are extremely sorry to announce that captain Mashrafee bin Mortaza could not recover fully from his injury. So we have to leave him out of the Tri-Nation series. As per coaching staff's report Mashrafee's recovery is 80%. That's why we thought it would not be wise to take any risk as far as his injury is concerned. We are hopeful that he will recover fully before the test series against India.
"Mashrafee is our asset and we want to give him ample time to recover from his injury", said Rafiq.
Mashrafee injured his knee during the first Test on the tour of West Indies in July. The injury ruled him out of the rest of the tour and the subsequent ODI series against Zimbabwe both home and away. However, he was selected in the 26-man preliminary squad - later reduced to 18 - for the tri-series and was selected as the captain for the Tri-series and home Test series against India.
BCB selectors today recalled ICL returnee opener Shariar Nafees Ahmed and dashing all rounder Aftab Ahmed. But surprisingly there was no place for all rounder Alok Kapali who was the impressive player in ICL from Bangladesh. There was a place for the 22-years old rookie fast bowler Shafiul Islam who was selected ahead of Shahadat Hossain. All these three players were impressive in the just concluded Premier Division Cricket League.
Chief selector Rafiq said, "All three performed well in the local league cricket. Aftab not only is an explosive batsman but also a useful medium pacer. Shafiul bowls well and is mature enough to cope with international pressure".
Bangladesh Squad:
Shakib Al Hasan (Captain), Mushfiqur Rahim (Vice Captain/WK), Mohammad Ashraful, Tamim Iqbal, Roqibul Hassan, Mahmud Ullah, Naeem Islam, Abdur Razzak, Syed Rasel, Nazmul Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Imrul Kayes, Shahriar Nafees Ahmed, Aftab Ahmed, Shafiul Islam.
Itinerary: Bangladesh-India-Sri Lanka Tri-Nation ODI competition
Date Details Venue
01 Jan - Fri Sri Lanka Team Arrives/ & Practice SBNCS
02 Jan - Sat India Team Arrives/Rest & Practice SBNCS
04 Jan - Mon Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (Day/Night) SBNCS
05 Jan - Tue Sri Lanka v India (Day/Night) SBNCS
06 Jan - Wed Rest Day SBNCS
07 Jan - Thu Bangladesh v India (Day/Night) SBNCS
08 Jan - Fri Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (Day/Night) SBNCS
09 Jan - Sat Rest Day SBNCS
10 Jan - Sun Sri Lanka v India (Day/Night) SBNCS
11 Jan - Mon Bangladesh v India (Day/Night) SBNCS
12 Jan - Tue Rest Day
13 Jan - Wed Final (Day/Night) SBNCS
SBNCS: Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur, Dhaka