DHAKA — South Africa has released captain AB de Villiers from its One-Day International squad in Bangladesh ahead of the three-match series starting in Mirpur Friday. De Villiers was suspended for the opening match of the series as punishment for maintaining a slow over rate during the World Cup semifinal against New Zealand in March. "AB's presence and contributions will be missed, but we have a hectic playing schedule this season and we felt this would be a great opportunity to develop the next tier of batters during this series, like we are doing with our bowlers," coach Russell Domingo said in a press release from Cricket South Africa Tuesday. "We would also like to give him the peace of mind of being close to his wife with the imminent birth of his first child." Test skipper Hashim Amla, who is vice captain in the 50-over format, will lead the side. Domingo also confirmed leg-spinner Eddie Leie will remain in Bangladesh for the ODI series having helped the Proteas win the two-match Twenty20 series 2-0. Bangladesh recalls Mahmudullah, Anamul Bangladesh, meanwhile, recalled batsmen Mohammad Mahmudullah and Anamul Haque in a 14-man squad for the first two of the three ODIs against South Africa. Mahmudullah missed Bangladesh's previous series against India at home after he sustained a fracture on his left index finger. Anamul was injured during the World Cup in March and was sent back home from Australia. He missed the home matches against India and Pakistan. "Mahmudllah is fit for selection. So we've decided to include him," said chief selector Faruque Ahmed. "We also want to see Anamul as he looks to have regained his form," he added. Mominul Haque and Rony Talukdar, who were part of the squad for Pakistan and India series but did not feature in any of the matches, made way for Mahmudullah and Anamul. Paceman Taskin Ahmed will also miss the first two ODIs due to a rib injury he picked up during a training session last week. Squad: Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Litton Das, Arafat Sunny, Jubair Hossain, Rubel Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman. — Agencies
