Bangladesh look set to start their one-day series in Zimbabwe without Litton Das, yet team medics believe the opener should still feature in the latter two fixtures.
“Litton Das is suffering from an injury in his left calf muscle. It’s a Grade I injury. It usually takes two to three weeks to recover from an injury like that. Two weeks have already passed. We are expecting him to recover by the end of the third week,” team physio Bayzedul Islam Khan explained on Saturday. “The possibility of him playing in the first ODI is almost nil, but he should be able to play in the second and third ODIs if he can meet all the parameters of our fitness test.”
The 30-year-old last batted in the home ODIs against Australia a fortnight ago, retiring hurt late in the second match and sitting out the third. He then missed the entire T20I series, which Australia swept 3–0, as well as the ongoing one-off Test in Bulawayo. Despite the lay-off, selectors have asked him to travel with the white-ball squad so that he can complete rehabilitation under their supervision.
Bangladesh’s coaching staff will take a cautious approach, largely because calf strains are known to flare up if pushed too early. A Grade I tear is the mildest on the scale – essentially tiny micro-tears – but sprinting between the wickets places obvious stress on that area. A short turnaround between matches on 9 and 11 July means any relapse would probably end his tour.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who missed the final Australia ODI after a concussion, is available again and has been confirmed as captain for the series. The off-spinning all-rounder also sat out the Test to manage workload, so this will be his first competitive cricket in almost three weeks. “Our middle order has looked solid,” one member of the support staff said informally, “but Miraz’s game sense and calmness are hard to replace when things tighten.”
With Litton unlikely for the opener, Soumya Sarkar or youngster Tanzid Hasan could slot into the top three. Soumya filled in during the Australia series, while Tanzid, a fluent left-hander, has impressed in warm-up sessions in Harare.
Full Bangladesh squad: Mehidy Hasan Miraz (capt), Soumya Sarkar, Saif Hassan, Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Litton Das, Mosaddek Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Tanvir Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Nahid Rana.
The first ODI is scheduled for 6 July, followed by matches on 9 and 11 July.
