BAN vs SL: There comes a major blow for Bangladesh as Mushfiqur Rahim will miss the Sri Lanka Test series beginning on Friday due to a fractured thumb. Bangladesh physio Bayjedul Islam Khan has confirmed that Mushfiqur will require at least three weeks to recover from the fracture. The prolific player suffered an injury during the second over of the third ODI against Sri Lanka on Monday. He was stuck by Taskin Ahmed’s delivery on his right thumb & was seen in immense pain.
Bangladesh’s physio did the aid & Mushfiqur was again seen donning wicket-keeping gloves & also played a match-winning unbeaten 37 in the 236-run chase for Bangladesh. Following the game, Mushfiqur underwent an X-ray scan in Dhaka, revealing an avulsion fracture on the MIP joint of his right thumb. Bayjedul stated that he’s currently receiving conservative treatment for his injury. The prognosis suggests he’ll be out of action for approximately three to four weeks, meaning he’ll miss the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka.
Mushfiqur’s exit is a major blow for Bangladesh’s batting order. He has been their Test specialist playing 88 Tests which is the most for any Bangladesh player & has scored 5676 runs at an average of 38.09. Mushfiqur was also in excellent form in the ODI series finishing as Bangladesh’s second-highest run-scorer behind Najmul Hossain Shanto.
BAN vs SL: Who can replace Mushfiqur in Bangladesh Squad
Bangladesh selectors haven’t announced Mushfiqur’s Replacement but they don’t have many choices with proper red ball experiences. The ones who could be considered are Soumya Sarkar, Towhid Hridoy, or Tanzid Hasan, while Jaker Ali and Anamul Haque are also fresh from the ODI side. Their second like-forlike replacement for Mushfiqur could be Naeem Islam who has played the last of his eight Tests in 2012. Naeem has been in good red-ball form recently finishing the BCL 2023-24 as the leading run-scorer and the NCL 2023-24 as the joint second-highest run-getter.
Bangladesh will play the first Test of the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka in Sylhet before traveling to Chattogram for the second Test that gets underway on March 30. Sri Lanka won the T20I series 2-1 before Bangladesh bounced back to take the ODI leg by the same margin.
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