Afif, Shoriful excluded from third Ireland ODI

Left-handed batter Afif Hossain and left-handed pacer Shoriful Islam have been released from the Bangladesh team ahead of their third One-Day International against Ireland on Thursday.

The duo have returned to Dhaka to play in the Dhaka Premier League, where Afif will play for Abahani Limited, while Shoriful will take part for Prime Bank Cricket Club.

The decision was taken as neither of the two has played in the first two matches and will not participate in the final ODI.

“There is no point in keeping such a big squad (of 16 players) for one match. As they will not play, it is better for them to play in the DPL. They will be in consideration for the Twenty20 Internationals series and also the next series,” Bangladesh National Team chief selector Minhajul Abedin told a local online media portal.

Afif is now likely to feature in the high-profile clash between Abahani and Mohammedan SC today.

The left-handed batter has struggled for runs in recent times as his last six matches have accumulated only 61 runs. On the other hand, Shoriful last played an ODI in Bangladesh 2-1 series defeat to Zimbabwe in 2022.