Newcomer Fazle Mahmud 'the complete package' – Habibul Bashar

Fazle Mahmud was the only new name in the 15-man Bangladesh squad announced to take on Zimbabwe in a three match-one-day international series at home. The 30-year-old is a middle-order batsman and, like Shakib, bowls left-arm spin.

Shakib has long been among the world's leading all-rounders, and Mahmud will have big boots to fill, but Bashar feels he is up to the task.

Mahmud has featured prominently in Bangladesh A teams, and has steadily improved his all-round credentials. Most recently, in five one-dayers against Ireland A in their backyard, he scored 136 runs from three innings and also claimed four wickets at 34.50.

Bashar, the former Bangladesh captain, pointed out that Mahmud also maintains high levels of fitness – a crucial aspect in the modern-day game.

“Rabbi (Mahmud) had an interesting start to his career. He was in the high-performance squad. He was a promising cricketer. Then unfortunately he went off form. But later he came back to form and performed well in the domestic circuit. Last three years he has improved his game and played well in the ‘A’ team’s tours,” said Bashar.

“He is 30 years of age but he is a very fit cricketer. We need a player in the absence of Shakib who can bat and also bowl. His bowling is effective. That’s why he has been chosen. His batting has been changed. He was batting aggressively in the early part of his career, but recently he has started batting according to the situation of the game.

“He can also rotate strike, and obviously play big shots. He is a more mature batsman now. He is also a good spinner, plus he is a good fielder as well. So he is a kind of a complete package for us. Hopefully he will perform well as he is a more mature cricketer now.”

The other new face in the squad was Mohammad Saifuddin, who played the last of his nine international matches in February this year. He has been included in an attempt to add depth to the Bangladesh batting. "We have been looking for a bowling all-rounder at No.7 in the Zimbabwe ODI series," Bashar said. "We picked Saifuddin because he is a bowler who can contribute with the bat."

The ODI series against Zimbabwe will get underway in Dhaka on 21 October, followed by two matches in Chittagong, before the teams play two Tests.