Bangladesh call up Anamul Haque as Liton Das out of Asia Cup 2023
Star wicket-keeper batter has been ruled out after failing to recover from viral fever
Dhaka: Bangladesh suffered an Asia Cup setback Wednesday as batsman Liton Das was ruled out of the tournament with viral fever.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board said Liton had been unable to travel and named Anamul Haque as his replacement.
Anamul, whose last ODI appearance for Bangladesh was in December against India, was due to join the Bangladesh squad later Wednesday ahead of their opening match against the co-hosts Sri Lanka in Kandy on Thursday.
The 30-year-old right-hander has played 44 one-day internationals and scored 1,254 runs, including three centuries.
"(Anamul) has been in the runs in domestic cricket," chairman of the national selection panel Minhajul Abedin said.
"Due to Liton's unavailability, we needed a top-order batter who could keep wicket, and Anamul got the nod."
The Asia Cup is a final chance for teams from the region to size each other up before the World Cup in India starting in October.
Pakistan and Sri Lanka are co-hosting the six-nation tournament, a hybrid model agreed after India refused to tour Pakistan, with the final on September 17 in Colombo.
Bangladesh are in Group B with Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in Group B.
In Group A, Pakistan face Nepal in Multan in the opening match later Wednesday before a blockbuster clash with India in Kandy on Saturday.