Bangladesh fast bowler Taskin Ahmed to miss first ODI against India due to back injury

Bangladesh fast bowler Taskin Ahmed will miss the first ODI of the upcoming ODI series on home soil against India due to recurring back pain. For now, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has announced Shoriful Islam as his replacement.

The right-arm speedster was expected to lead the pace attack, given his superior form. The 27-year-old notably played an integral role in Bangladesh's historic ODI series win over South Africa earlier this year, picking up eight wickets in three games at 14.

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BCB chief selector Minhajul Abedin stated that they will be closely tracking Taskin's progress before deciding on his participation. He told Cricbuzz:

"Taskin is ruled out from the opening game of the ODIs as his back pain recurred. We will be seeing his progress before taking further decision regarding his participation."

The home side also has fitness concerns over their skipper Tamim Iqbal, who sustained a groin injury in the warm-up fixture at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on November 30.

Addressing the veteran opener's injury, Minhajul said:

"We are waiting for Tamim's scan report. He had a groin injury and the physician asked him to have a scan to take a decisions about his availability."

Squad to face India ODIs: Tamim Iqbal (c), Liton Das, Anamul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain, Yasir Ali, Mehidy Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Ebadot Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Mahmud Ullah, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Nurul Hasan Sohan.

Bangladesh secure direct qualification for the 2023 World Cup

Meanwhile, the sub-continent nation has also qualified for the 2023 World Cup, helped by a no-result in the ODI between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in Pallekele. However, captain Tamim Iqbal has targeted a spot in the top four.

He said, as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo:

"I was taken by surprise when I saw that we had completed qualification. I thought we would need to win one out of the last six games but because of the other teams' results, it came early. It gives a bit of a breather but it is not the ultimate goal. We have to finish in the top four if possible."

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Having first played in the World Cup in 1999, Bangladesh are yet to reach the semi-finals.