||CF Correspondent||

Mohammad Saifuddin found a place in Bangladesh’s ODI squad despite his previous failures in the Red and Green outfit. He could be featuring for the Tigers in their upcoming series against Zimbabwe, as the team management wants to experiment with a bowling-all-rounder for the seventh position in the batting lineup.

Bangladesh already have Ariful Haque in the squad but national selector Habibul Bashar thinks that the 25-year-old is more of a batting all-rounder. Soumya Sarkar, who played in the Asia Cup final, also falls into the batting all-rounder category, according to the selector.

Bashar said: “We were looking for a bowling all-rounder [to bat] at number 7. The two names [Soumya Sarkar and Ariful Haque] mentioned, are allrounders, but basically, they are batting all-rounders. Our first priority is to see them bat first and then bowl. 

“At number 7, we actually need a bowling all-rounder, who basically bowls and can bat as well. That is the reason why we have taken Saifuddin in this series.

“All the players we played at number 7 so far, were batting all-rounders. Now we're going to make a little change. We are looking forward to assessing [Saifuddin], this series is our chance to see.

“When we play outside, we need more bowling, compared to batting. If we can set a bowling all-rounder then it will be good, as we don’t need much batting down the order.”

“Ariful Haque came as a bowling all-rounder, but over the years his batting has got more focus. We cannot think of bowling him for 10 overs. He did not have the opportunity to bowl in the matches he played. He has played in the batting all-rounder category. We are looking for someone who can bowl 10 overs and bat if necessary,” he added.