Injured Shakib al Hasan rules out of the first Test against Sri Lanka; Mahmudullah to lead the side

After losing the tri-series final against Sri Lanka, the Bangladeshi side is up for another loss as their newly appointed skipper Shakib al Hasan is set to miss the 1st Test of the series against the Lankan side. The first Test of the two-match series starts on 31st January at Chittagong. The number one ranked Test all-rounder injured his finger during the tri-series final against Sri Lanka.

Senior physician of the side Debashis Chowdhury in a statement said that the left-hander has been assessed by a cosmetic surgeon and necessary repairs have been done. The x-rays didn’t find any fractures but a number of stitches were required. on the finger.

Brilliant performance took the side to the finals

Shakib’s all-around performance in the series helped Bangladesh reach the finals of the series. Shakib picked up 9 wickets in the series while with the bat he scored 163 runs including 2 ha;f-centuries. In the final against the Sri Lankans, the Bangladeshi bowlers didn’t allow them to post a massive total as they were bowled out for 221 runs with pacer Rubel Hossain picking a 4-for. Shakib bowled just 5 overs in the game without any wicket to his name.

Shakib didn’t return for batting as he injured himself during the 42nd over of the game. The run chase saw Bangladesh crumbling under pressure and were eventually bowled out for 142 runs in the 41st over of the innings.

Interestingly, the 30-year-old Shakib was set to begin his 2nd stint as a Test skipper of the side in the first game of the series against Sri Lanka. He had replaced the wicket-keeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim as the captain of the team in December last year. With the blow ahead of the Test series, newly-appointed Mahmadullah Riyad is set to lead the side. There are chances that the star cricketer might also miss the 2nd Test of the series.