Injured Mushfiqur Rahim, Imrul Kayes Ruled Out Of Second Test Against New Zealand
Jan 19, 2017 at 4:47 PM
Bangladesh has suffered a massive blow before the start of the second Test, which is scheduled at Hagley Oval on January 20, as their captain Mushfiqur Rahim, Imrul Kayes and Mominul Haque have been ruled out of the second and final Test after suffering from injuries.
The 28-year-old right-handed batsman Rahim suffered a hairline fracture to his thumb in the first Test at Basin Reserve in Wellington, where he set a mammoth 359-run partnership with all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who scored 217.
“The injury he got when he got hit by a bouncer, that’s absolutely fine. It’s just the thumb we’re worried about,” Tamim was quoted as saying by Stuff.co.nz on the eve of second Test.
Rahim, who scored 159, was also hit on the back of his helmet by Tim Southee when he was batting on 13 (in the first Test). He was taken to hospital before receiving the first-aid in the second innings as visitors lost the game by seven wickets.
“The attitude was fantastic. The way we played cricket, I think it was quite good. The result doesn’t show how competitive we were [in Wellington],” Tamim added.
On the other side, the 29-year-old opener Imrul Kayes has been rested after suffering from a thigh strain as he was struggling while batting in the second innings.
The reports also suggested the top-order batsman Mominul Haque was also ruled out of the Test after suffering a rib injury at Basin Reserve. Haque is likely to get replaced by uncapped Nazmul Hossain Shanto.
However, Tamim is hopeful to see Rahim and Kayes fit for the one-off Test against India, which is scheduled on February 9 at Hyderabad.
“We’ve made some mistakes, that’s why we were always in a losing side. We just need to minimise those,” Tamim concluded.
The 23-year-old wicket-keeper batsman Nurul Hasan is likely to break into the playing XI and Soumya Sarkar is expected to open the innings.