Shakib Al Hasan ruled out of 1st Bangladesh vs Pakistan Test
Shakib Al Hasan will not be available for the opening match of the Bangladesh vs Pakistan Test series, BCB chief selector Minhajul Abedin confirmed today.
In a chat with The Daily Star, Minhajul Abedin stated that Shakib Al Hasan had not fully recovered from his hamstring injury. As a result, he will miss at least the first Test of the upcoming series against Pakistan. Minhajul Abedin said:
"Shakib will miss the first Test, that's for sure. He is yet to recover from injury. After assessing the physiotherapist's report, we can say whether he will be available for the second Test."
Shakib Al Hasan sustained a hamstring injury while playing against West Indies in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. The all-rounder missed Bangladesh's last two matches of the Super 12 round against South Africa and Australia and was also ruled out of the home T20I series against Pakistan.
Shakib Al Hasan played only one match in the previous ICC World Test Championship cycle
Bangladesh will aim to register their first win in the ICC World Test Championship in the upcoming series against Pakistan. The Bangladeshi team failed to win a single match in the previous cycle.
The team's veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan played only one match during the 2019-21 WTC cycle, scoring 68 runs. He bowled six overs but could not pick up any wickets. Shakib will look forward to recovering soon and donning the whites for Bangladesh again.
The Bangladesh vs Pakistan Test series will start this Friday. Dhaka will play host to both matches of the series. With Shakib Al Hasan not playing, Pakistan have a golden chance of winning an away series in the new WTC cycle. It will be interesting to see which Asian team comes out on top.