Men’s ODI WC: Shakib sits out as Bangladesh win toss, opt to bat first against India

Pune, Oct 19 (IANS) Bangladesh’s stand-in skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto won the toss and elected to bat first in Match 17 of the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 against India at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium here on Thursday.

Bangladesh suffered a setback in the morning as skipper Shakib Al Hasan failed to recover from the left quad injury he suffered in the previous match against New Zealand and decided to sit out this crucial game.

Stand-in skipper Najmul Hossain said as it is a fresh wicket and the weather is nice, they want to put runs on the board. Nasum Ahmed came into the side in place of Shakib while Hasan Mahmud came in for Taskin Ahmad.

“Feeling proud to lead the side. We will bat today. It is a fresh wicket. It’ll be good for the team If we put up a good score. Shakib is struggling a bit, and Nasum replaces him. We have some great memories against India, hopefully, we continue our form. It’ll be a great match. Another change as Hasan comes in for Taskin,” Najmul said at the toss.

India skipper Rohit Sharma said he would have bowled first anyway as bowing first has been working for them and he did not want to change it. India retained the same squad that outplayed Pakistan in Ahmedabad on October 14.

“Either way I would have bowled first. We are planning to stick with the same plan, don’t see any reason to change it. That Plays a crucial role in this World Cup, keeping everybody in their own space. The boys are confident and as well as enjoying the cricket. We want to continue this momentum with no change in the Playing XI,” said Rohit Sharma.

Playing XIs:

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj.

Bangladesh: Litton Das, Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Nasum Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam.

–IANS

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