Saif ruled out of Test squad till NZ tour

Saif Hassan has been ruled out of the second Test against Pakistan, starting from December 4 in Mirpur, as well as from the tour of New Zealand as the young Bangladeshi opener was diagnosed with typhoid.

"Saif was diagnosed with typhoid and he already left the team bio-bubble. Saif will miss the second Test [against Pakistan] and also will not be available for the New Zealand tour. Bangladesh team is scheduled to fly to New Zealand on December 9 and it's unlikely he will be fit by this time because typhoid takes time to cure," chief selector Minhajul Abedin told The Daily Star today.

Minhajul also informed that they expanded the team for the second Test with the inclusion of Shakib Al Hasan, Taskin Ahmed and uncapped Naim Sheikh as the same team will fly for a two-match Test series in New Zealand. The squad is now reduced to 19-member after Saif's omission.

Saif scored 14 and 18 and struggled, alongside Bangladesh's top-order, against Pakistan in the recently concluded Chattogram Test.