Bangladesh have suffered a big blow in the ongoing ODI series against Zimbabwe, as wicketkeeper-batter Litton Das has been ruled out of the rest of the three-match series due to a hamstring injury. He was first expected to miss only the opening ODI on July 6, but he has not recovered in time.
Litton will now stay in Dhaka to continue his rehabilitation instead of joining the team for the remaining matches. Meanwhile, the absence of Litton comes at a difficult time for Bangladesh, who suffered a 25-run defeat in the opening match of the series. The visitors will now need to find a way to level the contest on July 9, or else will suffer an embarrassing series defeat. They struggled in the one-off Test as well, suffering a defeat by an innings and 85 runs.
Litton Das Ruled Out of Zimbabwe ODI Series
Bangladesh have already named a replacement for Litton Das. Parvez Hossain Emon has been added to the squad for the remaining two matches of the ODI series against Zimbabwe. On the other hand, Bangladesh physiotherapist Bayjedul Islam Khan confirmed that Litton underwent a fitness assessment but was unable to prove his readiness to take part in the upcoming matches.
“Litton had already missed the first ODI and is still not match fit. He underwent a fitness test today and the outcome was not satisfactory. With back-to-back ODIs coming up, we don’t think he will make sufficient progress to play any part in the series,” Bangladesh physio Bayjedul Islam Khan said in a statement.
Bangladesh do not want to rush Litton Das back into action. The team wants to give him enough time to fully recover from his hamstring injury. As an important part of Bangladesh’s batting lineup, they do not want to take any risk, especially with ODI series against Australia, South Africa, and India coming up. Bangladesh, however, will look for a better batting show in the second ODI. Chasing only 142 runs in Harare, they were bundled out for 116 runs, which isn’t acceptable in modern cricket. Only three of their batters scored in double digits, which is also highly concerning.