Big blow for Bangladesh as Liton Das misses Asia Cup 2023 due to viral fever

Players getting ruled out of Asia Cup 2023 have gotten worse. The star wicketkeeper batter from Bangladesh, Liton Das has been ruled out of the entire tournament due to a viral fever even before the tournament started. This is a big blow for Bangladesh, as Liton has been one of the best performers of Bangladesh in recent times, especially against the top teams.   

Several players have been ruled out of the tournament due to various reasons. Wanindu Hasaranga of Sri Lanka was ruled out of the series due to an injury. The pace trio of Sri Lanka – Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara, and Dilshan Madhushanka were ruled out due to injuries as well. Avishka Fernando was ruled out of the tournament due to COVID. As a result, Sri Lanka had to announce an entirely new squad for the tournament.   

For India, KL Rahul is set to miss the first two games of the tournament, as he is yet to recover fully from the injury. The news of Liton Das missing the tournament for Bangladesh adds the latest scare to the tournament. Das did not travel with the Bangladesh squad for Sri Lanka, which is set to begin its campaign on the 31st of August against the hosts in Pallekele.  

Replacement named for Liton Das by Bangladesh selection panel

In the absence of Das, Bangladesh’s selectors have announced Anamul Haque Bijoy as the replacement. The 30-year-old will join the squad of Bangladesh in Sri Lanka later today. In 44 ODIs for Bangladesh, Anamul has scored 1254 runs at a batting average of 30.59, at a batting strike rate of 74.16, including 3 hundred and 5 fifty-plus scores to his name. Bijoy last played an ODI against India in December 2022.  

Speaking about the injury of Das and the able replacement in Bijoy, Minhajul Abedin, the chairman of the selection panel of Bangladesh, said “He (Anamul) has been in the runs in domestic cricket, and we have continued to monitor him in Bangladesh Tigers program. He was always in our consideration.”