Mustafizur in, Rubel out
Bangladesh Cricket Board awarded young Mustafizur Rahman with a contract for 2016 while Rubel Hossain, a key member of Tigers' pace attack during the 2015 World Cup was left out of the list of contracted players.
Rubel has been troubled by injuries in recent months, and has not played for Bangladesh in any format since July 2015, reports ESPNcricinfo. The Bangladesh pacer was last seen in action during the Bangladesh Premier League, bowled four overs, gave away 30 runs, took a wicket for his team Sylhet Super Stars on December 10, 2015.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Rubel was included in Bangladesh A side for their tour to India where he managed to make an impression in one game with four wickets, but overall was too wayward and expensive for his liking. His tendency to bowl into the pads and down the leg renders him ineffective to keep batters quiet at any level.
Read more: Mustafizur was missed in PSL
Apart from Rubel, the BCB didn’t offer opening batsman Anamul Haque and fast-medium bowler Shafiul Islam any contracts for this season.
In place of these three cricketers, Bangladesh Cricket Board offered Mustafizur Rahman, Sabbir Rahman and Soumya Sarkar contracts with their recent performances in mind.
During 2015 when Bangladesh enjoyed the best-ever year in ODI cricket, all three made headlines with their stellar display with the bat or ball, at home against Pakistan, India and South Africa.
Read more: Mustafizur in ICC ODI Team of the Year
Soumya and Sabbir have established themselves as opener and finisher in Bangladesh's limited-overs batting line-ups while Mustafizur enjoying a dream debut season that capped off with his selection in the ICC ODI team of the year.
List of contracted players for 2016: Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Nasir Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Taijul Islam, Mashrafe Mortaza, Al-Amin Hossain, Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahman and Mustafizur Rahman.
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