I am always waiting for the opportunity to come back: Imrul

Imrul Kayes, who was yesterday named in the preliminary squad for Bangladesh's ODI series at home with Sri Lanka, said that he had the feeling that he was waiting in the wings to return to the national team setup. The cricketer who last played an ODI in 2018, reiterated that being out of the side helped him to work on mistakes in his game.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) named a 23-man preliminary squad on Saturday with Imrul named alongside Taijul Islam and young pacer Shohidul Islam. Imrul last played for Bangladesh during 2019, in the Kolkata Test against India.

"It's motivating to get called up in the national team and I would like to say thanks. When you are out of the squad you can't be mentally ready for national team duty so I think it's a great opportunity for me to start thinking anew. I can work on my lacking and this is a big opportunity," Imrul said during a recorded video message to the media.

He reiterated that being out of the squad is challenging on a mental level but it allowed him to think and learn.

"The thing with being outside the national team is you feel upset and miss the atmosphere when you watch the matches. But I think there are times that it's good for the players to be excluded [from the team]. I would say you can learn a few things and work on the mistakes you've met."

I didn't feel that I am going outside the national team. I don't ever think that I am getting excluded from national team setup, I enjoy the dressing room and do the hard work that needs to be done. I always feel like I am waiting for the opportunity to come back," he concluded.

The cricketers who are at home, begun training today at Sher-e-Bangla national cricket stadium. The rest of the cricketers who are playing the Test series in Sri Lanka, will join the squad after a few days' rest following return.

Preliminary squad:

Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Naim Sheikh, Imrul Kayes, Liton Kumar, Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah Riyad, Afif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nasum Ahmed, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Shohidul Islam.