England commence Bangladesh tour with ODIs

England begin their tour of Bangladesh with the first ODI in Dhaka on Sunday. They come into the series on the back of a drawn T20 series against Pakistan in Dubai.

Bangladesh will be confident of their chances in the 3-ODI series, playing at home. They looked out of sorts in the series against India and will be desperate to get a win under their belt. The selectors have decided to make some serious changes in personnel ahead of this important series. Mohammad Ashraful has been left out of the Bangladesh squad for the ODIs, which is a bold move but it is justified by the poor run of form he has shown in the international arena. He will be replaced by Suhrawadi Shuvo, who comes into the side as a left arm spinner and an extra batting option. The good news for the hosts is the return of Mashrafe Mortaza, who has been out of action since July after picking up an injury on the tour to the Caribbean. Roqibul Hasan, Nazmul Hossain and Shahadat Hossain have also been left out to maintain the balance in the side.

England, on the other hand are without Andrew Strauss. The responsibility of leading the side has been handed to Alastair Cook, Strauss’ opening partner. The key men for England would be Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan, who were both excellent in the series against Pakistan last week. Pietersen’s return to form is great confidence booster to the English middle order. Stuart Broad, seems to have found his rhythm back and he will have Tim Bresnan to support him in the pace department. Graeme Swann has played the role of a lone spinner pretty well in this English side over the last year or so and he could do a lot of damage on wickets where the ball will grip the surface and there will be a lot of turn on offer. James Tredwell has been included in the squad, who is an efficient off spinner and a handy batsman. Ajmal Shahzad will be looking to make his debut in ODIs after impressing all in the T20s against Pakistan.