Mahmudullah still in our plans: Hathurusingha

Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha feels that the door is not completely shut for Mahmudullah Riyad, who was not included in the squad for the ODI series against Ireland.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) statement said that the experienced batter had been 'rested', but many are feeling his time with the national team may be up.  

Hathurusingha doesn't think that this experienced right-handed batter, who is playing in the Dhaka Premier League (DPL) after being 'rested' from the team, is past his prime. 

On the eve of the first ODI against Ireland at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, Hathurusingha said regarding Mahmudullah: "I don't think he is past his prime. We are trying to increase our number of players before the World Cup. If something happens closer to the World Cup, we've got enough players that we've seen and can count on to play their part."

"That's the opportunity we want to take. Because we have only 15 ODIs left before the World Cup. We are therefore looking at some players who we feel can contribute. Riyad is still in our plans. This is how we see it," added the Lankan coach.

Bangladesh have chosen Yasir Ali and Towhid Hridoy in this series to replace Mahmudullah. Hathurusingha did not reveal everything in response to the question of whether Mahmudullah's return would be blocked if someone else did well, including these two, "It is very difficult to answer. You want to extract our thoughts about Mahmudullah. Riyad has done enough for the team, he has a lot of experience. We know what we can get from him."

"So we want to see some other players come forward, play international cricket. It is a matter of seeing how they can adjust themselves to this level of cricket. That doesn't mean that if a player has performed here, Mahmudullah will not get another chance. He is still in our plans.' Hathurusingha said.