The duo were part of the Asia Cup contingent but has been left out for the three-match ODI series at home against Zimbabwe later this month
Off-form has been cited as the chief reason for top-order batsman Mominul Haque and middle-order batsman Mosaddek Hossain getting omitted from the Bangladesh ODI squad. The duo were part of the Asia Cup contingent but has been left out for the three-match ODI series at home against Zimbabwe later this month.
Member of the BCB selection panel, Habibul Bashar reasoned that both have been given a break from the national team and a chance to perform in the domestic circuit to get back to form. According to the former national captain Bashar, both Mominul and Mosaddek are proven cricketers in the national fold and getting back to form will be enough for them to return to the national side.
Left-handed batsman Mominul had returned to the Bangladesh ODI team after almost three years as a back-up batsman to those who had carried niggles to the Asia Cup.
As opener Tamim Iqbal was ruled out from the tournament due to injury after just the first game, Mominul got the opportunity of getting into the action in two matches, in the group stage match against Afghanistan and a crucial do-or-die game against Pakistan in the Super Four phase.
Mominul however, had failed to impress in both the matches, scoring nine and five runs against Afghanistan and Pakistan respectively. Bashar felt sorry for the batsman and thought he still has some years left in international cricket.
“All my sympathy goes to Mominul as I think he getting dropped is unfortunate. I don’t think his ODI career is over yet. He still has a lot to give in ODIs but at this point we need to try out some more players. This (Zimbabwe series) is an opportunity for us to observe a few players,” said Bashar to the media at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka Saturday.
“We have lots of series ahead after Zimbabwe. We need to play against the West Indies, New Zealand, followed by the World Cup (in 2019). We could have tried out a few more players if we had Shakib (al Hasan) or Tamim available. But they are not available and that is why we had to take experience and form into consideration to make the best possible squad. Two innings played by Mominul in the Asia Cup is never an enough opportunity for a player. It would have been better if he could score some more runs,” Bashar added.
Meanwhile, Mosaddek before getting dropped was part of Bangladesh’s ODI contingent in the tour of the West Indies and the Asia Cup in the UAE.
Having got the chance to bat in five innings across the two series, Mosaddek’s highest score of 26 not out had come against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup. Mosaddek had made a comeback in the ODI series after almost a year through the tour of the West Indies in July this year.
“We are not satisfied with Mosaddek to be honest. He is not being able to bat effectively at No 7. So we thought of giving him a break and hope he will return to runs in domestic competitions. He has not been in good form recently,” said Bashar.
Source: Dhaka Tribune.
