New Zealand captain Tom Latham chose to bat first against Bangladesh in the opening ODI of the three-match series in Dhaka on Friday, following a delayed toss caused by a late change in the Bangladesh lineup.
Late Change to Bangladesh XI
The toss was held up after Bangladesh head coach Phil Simmons handed captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz an updated team sheet. The alteration confirmed that Mustafizur Rahman had been replaced by Shoriful Islam.
It was later clarified that Mustafizur missed out due to a knee issue. Bangladesh team operations manager Nafees Iqbal explained that Mustafizur “felt slight discomfort on his right knee during the warm-ups today.”
Despite the change, Bangladesh fielded a pace attack featuring Taskin Ahmed, Nahid Rana, and Shoriful Islam.
New Zealand Field Reshuffled Side
New Zealand entered the match with a significantly altered lineup, making eight changes from their previous ODI against India in January. Only Henry Nicholls, Will Young, and Jayden Lennox retained their places from that game.
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Tom Latham returned to the ODI side after a gap, having last featured in November 2025.
The reshuffle comes with the New Zealand A team currently touring Sri Lanka for first-class and one-day fixtures, while several players are also involved in the IPL and PSL.
Playing XIs
Bangladesh
Saif Hassan, Tanzid Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Litton Das (wk), Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (capt), Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Nahid Rana
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New Zealand
Henry Nicholls, Will Young, Nick Kelly, Dean Foxcroft, Tom Latham (capt, wk), Muhammad Abbas, Josh Clarkson, Nathan Smith, Blair Tickner, Will O’Rourke, Jayden Lennox
