Hasan Mahmud ruled out of Bangladesh's T20I series against New Zealand
Fast bowler Hasan Mahmud will return to Bangladesh after failing to recover from a stiff back ahead of his team's 3-match T20I series against New Zealand. Mahmud played the first ODI against the Kiwis but had to pull out because of an injury after bowling just 4.2 overs.
Bangladesh were whitewashed in the ODI series 3-0. Hasan Mahmud missed the last two ODI games due to his back issue. Now, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has released a statement, ruling the seamer out of the three-match T20I series.
"The 21-year old has not trained or played due to a stiff back following the first ODI in Dunedin. Mahmud left for Dhaka today along with ODI captain Tamim Iqbal. He will continue his recovery under the supervision of the BCB medical team." BCB said in a statement.
Playing only his third ODI, Hasan Mahmud had a forgettable outing in Dunedin against New Zealand in the first game of the three-match series. He conceded 49 runs in 4.2 overs before his afternoon was cut short due to a back issue that propped up.
Following the 21-year-old's departure, Bangladesh are now left with Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Al-Amin Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Rubel Hossain and the uncapped Shoriful Islam as their fast bowling options going into the T20I series.
"We were nowhere close to them"- Tamim Iqbal after Bangladesh's ODI series loss to New Zealand.
Barring the second ODI, Bangladesh failed to put up any resistance against New Zealand in the ODI series.
Captain Tamim Iqbal was thoroughly dejected about his team's abject performance, saying after the series loss:
"I thought the first and the last game, we were nowhere close to them (New Zealand). They played exceptionally well. We are a much better team, but if we continue to play like this, we are going nowhere. We understand that these are different conditions than we have back home, but we have to improve a lot to compete with them."
Bangladesh will hope for a much better outing in the upcoming 3-match T20I series, which starts on Sunday. The Asian side are yet to win a T20 game against the Blackcaps.
Bangladesh T20I squad vs New Zealand:
Mahmudullah Riyad (captain), Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun, Liton Das, Afif Hossain Dhrubo, Soumya Sarkar, Naim Sheikh, Taskin Ahmed, Al-Amin Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mustafizur Rahman, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rubel Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed.
New Zealand vs Bangladesh T20I schedule:
Mar 28: 1st T20I, Seddon Park, Hamilton.
Mar 30: 2nd T20I, McLean Park, Napier.
Apr 1: 3rd T20I, Eden Park, Auckland.