Najmul Hossain Shanto, Bangladesh’s top-order hitter, is expected to miss the third and final ODI against Sri Lanka in Pallekele due to a quad injury acquired in the second game of the series. With the ODI series tied at 1-1, his absence might be a big setback for Bangladesh’s aspirations of winning a historic series on Sri Lankan soil.
Shanto, who failed to finish his fielding duties in the previous encounter, is being closely monitored by the team physio. According to the Cricbuzz report, he did participate in the training session but was not fully comfortable jogging and requested assistance from physio Bayzidul Islam during the nets. A final decision on his availability will be made after viewing him in the final practice session prior to the finale.
“We can only say something about him [Shanto] after the practice session because it is important to see how he reacts in the net and elsewhere during the training session ahead of the game,” a source familiar with the situation told.
Najmul Hossain Shanto dropped from T20I squad
If Shanto is ruled out, left-handed opener Mohammad Naim is expected to be part of the XI. Naim recently made a comeback to the national team after two years
and is coming off a solid domestic season where he topped the run charts in both the BPL and NCL T20s.
Earlier in 2025, Shanto stepped down from the T20I captaincy after a string of poor performances and has now been dropped from the squad for the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka. In 21 T20Is this year, the southpaw averaged just 18.84 with only one half-century. The 26-year-old, after losing the Test series against the same opponents, stepped down from the captaincy duties.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka are expected to make some changes. Batting coach Thilina Kandamby revealed that the surface in Pallekele is likely to be batting-friendly. However, both teams will be worried about rain interruptions, which have affected several ODIs at the venue in recent times.
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