Litton Das ruled out of Zimbabwe Test, Mahidul Islam named replacement

Bangladesh have announced a change in their squad for the one-off Test against Zimbabwe as Mahidul Islam will replace the injured Litton Das. Bangladesh will tour Zimbabwe for a one-off Test beginning on June 28 in Harare, followed by a three-match ODI series and as many T20Is.

However, star batter Litton Das has been ruled out of the red-ball fixture after failing to recover from a left calf strain that he picked up during the recent third ODI series against Australia in Mirpur.

"The BCB medical team has assessed his condition and is of the opinion that the batsman will struggle to get match fit for the Test within the time available," said BCB in a press release.

Litton missed the three-match T20I series against Australia, which concluded on Sunday. In his absence, Towhid Hridoy captained the side as Bangladesh suffered a 3-0 whitewash. Following their defeat, Bangladesh head coach Phil Simmons acknowledged that the team felt Litton's absence throughout the series.

"You miss his batting, and Litton is class. But again, what happens if he gets injured the day before [a big] tournament? We have to play properly, and the batsmen still have to bat even though he can get out on any day. They still have to bat, and today the only person that showed that the pressure didn't get to him was the captain,” Simmons said in the post-match press conference.

Litton Das' constant injuries in Tests

Litton Das also missed Bangladesh's two-match Test series against Zimbabwe last year, with Jaker Ali taking over the gloves. Prior to that, Litton was unavailable for the second Test against South Africa, giving Mahidul his only Test appearance to date. Mahidul is now the sole specialist wicketkeeper in Bangladesh's squad for the upcoming Zimbabwe tour.

Das will be a big miss for Bangladesh in the upcoming Test, with the star batter having experience of playing 54 matches in his career and scoring 3356 runs.

Bangladesh squad for one-off Test vs Zimbabwe: Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Shadman Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Tanzid Hasan, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahidul Islam (wk), Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Khaled Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Towhid Hridoy, Amite Hasan, Robiul Haque