Bangladesh have suffered a major setback ahead of the ODI tri-series in the United Arab Emirates. White-ball captain Litton Das has been ruled out of the tournament due to a hip injury. The series began on Saturday, with Bangladesh facing Zimbabwe in their opening match.
Vice-captain Towhid Hridoy took over the captaincy for the first game. Litton’s absence was confirmed shortly before the toss. Hridoy initially mentioned that the regular skipper was unavailable because of an injury.
Bangladesh team physio Bayezid Islam Khan later provided an update on Litton’s condition. The medical team conducted an MRI scan after the batter complained of pain in his right hip joint. Litton also attempted a fitness test but failed to meet the required standards.
“Litton Das came to us with a right hip joint complain,” Bangladesh team physio Bayezid Islam Khan said soon after the toss, where Hridoy had mentioned “an injury” when asked about Litton’s absence.
“We did an MRI report which told us something was wrong. Litton still tried to take a fitness test today but couldn’t match the benchmark, so he is not available for this series.”
Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Nahid Rana Also Miss Tri-Series
Litton has faced injury problems in recent months. He missed Bangladesh’s tour of Zimbabwe in July. The wicketkeeper-batter was appointed the full-time ODI captain in the same month.
However, he recently delivered an impressive performance against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi. Litton scored 53 and 102 in the drawn one-off Test. He also took eight catches and was named Player of the Match.
Bangladesh are also without all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz for their opening match against Zimbabwe. He has been suffering from a fever for the past three days, according to Bayezid.
This is the first time since September 2023 that both Litton and Mehidy have missed an ODI for Bangladesh.
Fast bowler Nahid Rana is another notable absentee. He has been sidelined since mid-July due to a side strain. Rana recently travelled to Perth for a medical check-up and was expected to return to competitive cricket later this month.
Afghanistan are the third team competing in the UAE tri-series. Bangladesh will hope their available players can step up as they deal with several key absences.
