England's captain, Jos Buttler, stated that the result of the third ODI against Bangladesh in Chattogram was of little significance after his team's 50-run loss. Buttler viewed the match as an opportunity to assess his options and identify a strategy that could prove successful on similar surfaces at the upcoming World Cup in India.
England had already won the series after triumphing in the first two games. Although the hosts missed the chance to complete a series sweep, they claimed a consolation victory in the final ODI on Monday.
In the last match, England made a couple of changes to their line-up, giving legspinner Rehan Ahmed his white-ball debut and promoting all-rounder Sam Curran to No.5 in the batting order, ahead of Buttler. Curran contributed 23 runs to a fourth-wicket partnership of 49 with James Vince.
"We changed a few things today and gave an opportunity to people in different ways, but I thought the intensity was still there," Buttler told reporters.
Buttler emphasized that England's victory in the T20 World Cup in Australia had given him confidence that the team that assembles in India in seven months' time will be able to draw on similar experience to overcome their lack of physical preparation.
"Looking back to the T20 World Cup, we probably went into that World Cup having never played our perceived best XI. But then to get into the tournament and go on to win it, that gives you great confidence that, even though we haven't had the opportunities to always play our best team, international cricket has become (more) focused on the ICC tournaments. I think that's the way we're building toward that. And we know that, come to the World Cup, we will have the opportunity to pick from everyone who's available," Buttler said.