Will Ankon join the ODI merry-go-round?

The lack of depth in the player's pipeline is an oft-repeated cliché in Bangladesh cricket and was on display yet again by Thursday's squad announcement for the upcoming ODI series against West Indies, starting on October 18.

Following a disastrous 3-0 ODI series defeat in the UAE against Afghanistan, changes were expected in the 16-man squad, and two were made.

Bangladesh dropped underperforming opener Mohammad Naim and with Litton Das out injured, in-again-out-again opener Soumya Sarkar returned to the setup. Pacer Nahid Rana was also axed, and in his place, middle-order wicketkeeper-batter Mahidul Islam Ankon earned his maiden callup into the ODI squad.

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Interestingly, the creaky middle-order was left unchanged with only Ankon added to the mix, a clear indication of a dried-up pipeline.

"By bringing in Ankon, we have increased depth, which will give the team management and the captain a choice. We can now give one or two of the batters who haven't batted very well a break for a few matches," chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu said in a video message on Thursday.

Soumya, who missed the Afghanistan T20Is due to visa complications, last featured in ODIs during his sole appearance in this year's ICC Champions Trophy against India. Before that, he had appeared in three ODIs against West Indies, making a run-a-ball 73 in the third ODI at Basseterre.

He was in the T20I plans but after failing to recover from a back injury, he lost his place in the UAE and Pakistan T20Is. Subsequently, without any justification of performances, Soumya was dropped from the ODI series against Sri Lanka and then Afghanistan.

"Many are playing well in his position," the chief selector had explained back then. Those "many" included Naim, the latest batter to get dropped after failing to emulate his domestic performances at the international stage.

Domestic performances have rarely been an indicator for international success in Bangladesh. It was seen with opener Anamul Haque Bijoy too recently. Parvez Hossain Emon was also dropped from ODIs due to inconsistency.

Given the scenario, Soumya returned not because of his performances, but because he is not the only option left.

Meanwhile, Ankon had made 431 runs in the last Dhaka Premier League (DPL) at an average of over 47, far behind Bijoy, Emon and Naim -- the top three run-getters -- who averaged 79.45, 61.38 and 61.80 respectively. All three are now out of the ODI fray.

Like a game of musical chairs, the same group of names have come in and gone out of the squad, but the changes have not created any sustainability.

Now with Ankon, the question is whether he too would become another name in this vicious cycle or break free from it.