‘No obstacle to Mushfiqur playing’
Wicket-keeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim is expected to fully recover from his hamstring injury by the second week of February, which means the cricketer will be available for the upcoming home test against Zimbabwe starting on February 22, informed Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chief physician Debashish Chowdhury yesterday.
Mushfiqur is currently undergoing rehabilitation for a hamstring injury that kept him out of the first round of the Bangladesh Cricket League. There were doubts about whether the 32-year-old would be able to recover in time for the lone Test against Zimbabwe.
“Mushfiqur has been struggling from a hamstring injury for quite some time and he was in rehabilitation at the same time. As it was a Grade 1 injury, we were expecting Mushfiqur to recover by the second week of February. He has given the fitness test today [Tuesday] and it was satisfying and he is fit to play. There is no obstacle for him to play in the coming days,” Debashish told reporters yesterday.
Because of security fears and his family’s concern about conditions in Pakistan, Mushfiqur had withdrawn from the three-stage tour.
Questions were raised about Mushfiqur after chief selector Minhajul Abedin said that the squad picked for the first Test against Pakistan would also play the Test against Zimbabwe and the second Test against Pakistan from April 5.
BCB boss Nazmul Hassan seemed unhappy with Mushfiqur pulling out of the Pakistan tour and the Tigers succumbing to a 2-0 defeat in the three-T20I series last month. Hassan even said that Mushfiqur was not an automatic choice in the team anymore, despite previously saying that players had the option of not going to Pakistan.
Mushfiqur told Cricbuzz on Tuesday that he would be available for the Zimbabwe series, but added that his selection was not in his hands.
“Till date no one said anything to me in this regard and it does not matter if they said anything elsewhere because at the end of the day I will only act according to the way they want and if they take such decision [of dropping me] then I will ask why and take steps so that I can make a comeback in the following series,” Mushfiqur told Cricbuzz.
Meanwhile, Debashish also said that Imrul Kayes, who was suffering from a calf muscle injury, had taken a fitness test and was fit to play. He also said that the board is mulling sending opener Shadman Islam, who injured his wrist, and under-19 pacer Mrittunjoy Chowdhury, who has an injured shoulder, to Australia for treatment.
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