Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan has been ruled out of the upcoming tri-nation Twenty20 tournament in Sri Lanka as he is still nursing a finger injury, Bangladesh Cricket Board said on Saturday.
The Nidahas Trophy, which also includes hosts Sri Lanka and India, will start in Colombo on Tuesday. Shakib picked up the injury during the final of a tri-nation One-day International competition against Sri Lanka in Dhaka in January.
He missed the two-match Test series and both Twenty20 Internationals against Sri Lanka last month due to the injury. Bangladesh included Shakib in the squad for the Nidahas Trophy in the hope that he would recover at some stage of the tournament.
The BCB last week sent Shakib to Thailand for an expert opinion on his injured finger, where doctors said it would need more time to heal. Interim Bangladesh coach Courtney Walsh said Shakib should not be rushed back to play cricket. “We will give him the time, as long as he takes to get ready,” Walsh said at a press conference in Dhaka on Saturday ahead of the team’s departure for Sri Lanka.
“Guys have to understand and work around that. When you have a world-class player like Shakib, you give him every opportunity to get fit. He is a hard player to replace overnight. He does everything – bat, bowl, field and captain. As soon as he is well enough to play, we will have to get him there,” he said.
Vice-captain Mahmudullah will lead the side in the T20 tournament in Shakib’s absence. Shakib has been replaced in the squad by batsman Liton Das. Bangladesh will face India in their opening match of the tournament on Thursday.
(With inputs from AFP)
