DHAKA: Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza has been ruled out of next month's home tri-series against India and Sri Lanka after failing a fitness test, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said on Thursday.
Mortaza underwent surgery on both knees in Australia in September and was looking to return for the series, which starts on Jan. 4 in Dhaka.
"Medically he looks fit but he did not get his full cricketing fitness yet," chief selector Rafiqul Alam told a news conference.
"He was too good a player to be left out, but at the same time we have to take care of him also. He will be training with the team and hopefully will return to his job as captain shortly."
Mortaza was first nominated as Bangladesh captain in July for a tour of West Indies but fell awkwardly while bowling on the third day of the first test and has been sidelined since.
All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan stepped in as skipper in Mortaza's absense and will retain the captaincy for the tri-series.
Pacer Shafiul Islam is the only uncapped player in the BCB's 15-man squad for the tri-series. Shahriar Nafees and Aftab Ahmed, who had played in the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), have been recalled in the squad.
Squad: Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Ashraful, Abdur Razzak, Tamim Iqbal, Syed Rasel, Roqibul Hassan, Mahmud Ullah, Nazmul Hossain, Naeem Islam, Imrul Kayes, Rubel Hossain, Shahriar Nafees, Aftab Ahmed, Shafiul Islam. (Reporting by Azad Majumder; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
Source: Reuters