Al-Amin recalled for Eng ODIs

Pacer Al-Amin Hossain was recalled to the 14-member squad for the first two ODIs against England to be held at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on October 7 and 9.

The selectors made one change to the squad that was announced for the last ODI against Afghanistan as left-arm spinner Taijul Islam made way for Al-Amin, whose omission for the series against the Afghans raised many questions.

According to chief selector Minhajul Abedin, the right-arm pacer Al-Amin got his place back as Rubel Hossain looked far from his best in the first two ODIs against Afghanistan, forcing the selectors to bring left-arm spinner Mosharraf Hossain for the last game.

“Shafiul [Islam] was our first choice among three pace bowlers and we had picked Rubel as we wanted to see him before the England series but he looked to need some time to get back his rhythm. Al-Amin was always in our consideration and that's why he came back to the squad,” explained Minhajul.

“On the other hand, Taijul basically is a better choice for longer-version cricket but we wanted to see him in ODI cricket again, but he failed to impress us. Mosharraf bowled well despite an eight-year break from international cricket and we want to see how he responds in big matches,” he added.

Replying to a question about the top order, the former national skipper said: “Imrul (Kayes) played in the number three position but we considered him as a third opener. We will be looking forward to see how Soumya [Sarkar] uses the opportunity in the practice match.”