Bangladesh find themselves in a welcome but tricky situation ahead of the second Test against Sri Lanka, starting Wednesday at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, as the return of Mehidy Hasan Miraz poses a selection dilemma for the team management.
Mehidy missed the first Test in Galle due to illness. But now he is back with his all-around values.
However, his replacement in Galle, off-spinner Nayeem Hasan, made a strong case for retention by taking six wickets in the match, including a five-wicket haul in the first innings.
“It’s a good headache to have,” head coach Phil Simmons said on Tuesday. “Miraz is world-class, contributes with both bat and ball. But Nayeem was brilliant in Galle. It’s never easy to leave someone out after such a performance. We'll take a final call after today’s training.”
Should Bangladesh decide to play both off-spinners, a likely casualty could be a specialist batter—possibly wicketkeeper-batter Zakir Ali.
But Simmons declined to confirm anything, stating that the final XI would be revealed on match day.
Sri Lanka, too, are undergoing changes. With veteran Angelo Mathews having retired after the Galle Test, three young faces—Pavan Rathnayake, Pasindu Sooriyabandara and Sonal Dinusha—have been added to the squad.
Captain Dhananjaya de Silva hinted that Dinusha, a left-handed batter who also bowls left-arm spin, is in serious consideration.
“Sonal is promising, and can be useful given the conditions,” Dhananjaya said.
Meanwhile, medium-pacer Milan Rathnayake has been ruled out with a side strain, creating an opening for either Kasun Rajitha or Akila Dananjaya—the latter returning to the Test setup after nearly six years.
