Litton Das ruled out of remainder of Zimbabwe ODI series due to hamstring injury; Parvez Hossain Emon named replacement

Bangladesh has suffered a major setback ahead of the remaining two ODIs against Zimbabwe, with wicketkeeper-batter Litton Das being ruled out of the rest of the series due to a hamstring injury.

Litton had already missed the opening ODI on July 6 after sustaining the injury and was expected to return later in the series. However, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has now confirmed that the right-handed batter has failed to recover in time and will continue his rehabilitation in Dhaka.

His absence comes as a significant blow for Bangladesh, who are trailing 0-1 in the three-match series after suffering a surprise defeat in the opening ODI. To fill the vacancy, the BCB has named left-handed opener Parvez Hossain Emon as Litton's replacement for the second and third ODIs, which are scheduled to be played on July 9 and July 11 in Harare.

Providing an update on Litton's fitness, Bangladesh team physio Bayjedul Islam Khan said the batter was still not ready to return to competitive action after undergoing a fitness assessment.

"Litton had already missed the first ODI and is still not match fit. He underwent a fitness test today, and the outcome was not satisfactory. With back-to-back ODIs coming up, we don't think he will make sufficient progress to play any part in the series," Bangladesh physio Bayjedul Islam Khan was quoted as saying by Cricinfo.

Bangladesh will now head into the second ODI in Harare on Thursday needing a victory to keep the three-match series alive. A defeat would hand Zimbabwe the series, while a win for the visitors would set up a decider in the final ODI on July 11.

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The visitors entered this series with high confidence after their historic ODI series victory over Australia. They beat the Kangaroos with a margin of 2-1 in a three-match series, marking their first-ever ODI series win over Australia. They are currently ranked ninth in the ICC ODI team rankings.