Shakib ruled out of T20 World Cup

Shakib ruled out of T20 World Cup

Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan clutches his knee during their ICC Twenty20 World Cup match against West Indies at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah on Friday. — AFP photo

Ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has been ruled out of the ongoing ICC Twenty20 World Cup due to a hamstring injury, Bangladesh Cricket Board confirmed in a media release on Sunday.

‘Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has been ruled out of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 due to a hamstring injury,’ read the media release from the BCB.

Shakib injured his hamstring during Bangladesh’s Group 1 match of the Super 12 against the West Indies on October 29, where the all-rounder bowled his four overs and also opened the innings despite clearly being in discomfort.

After the match, Shakib was kept under observation for two days and was taken to a local medical facility for scans on Saturday.

The reports confirmed Bangladesh’s worst fears as Shakib’s injury will take some time to heal which made him unavailable for the Tigers’ next two ties of the T20 World Cup against South Africa and Australia on October 2 and 4 respectively.

‘Shakib sustained a left lower hamstring strain while fielding during the match against the West Indies. In clinical examination it was diagnosed as an injury of Grade 1 intensity,’ Bangladesh team doctor Debashis Chowdhury was quoted in the media release.

The injury also puts Shakib’s participation in the home series against Pakistan in doubt which is scheduled to be held from November 19 to December 8.

‘He [Shakib] is ruled out from participation in the last two matches of the tournament and until further review,’ Debashis added.

Shakib has been the team’s best performer in the tournament with 11 wickets and 131 runs in six matches and two player-of-the match awards against Oman and Papua New Guinea, Bangladesh’s only two victories so far in the competition.

Shakib is the second player of the Bangladesh squad after pace bowling all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin to get ruled out of the competition due to injury.

Saifuddin’s T20 World Cup ended due to incessant back pain on October 27 and he was replaced in the squad by pacer Rubel Hossain, Bangladesh’s only reserve player in the tournament.

The 24-year-old returned to Bangladesh on October 29 and now is in complete bed rest.

‘I returned home on October 29. From BCB’s medical unit, I was told to be on complete bed rest. They will assess my injury after one more week. Then they will decide if I will be available in the series against Pakistan,’ Saifuddin told New Age.

The injury worries don’t end there for Bangladesh, as wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan, who couldn’t play against the West Indies after getting injured in the nets while facing Taskin Ahmed before the England game, is still under observation.

Debashis told the reporters that Nurul will be evaluated today and then the medical team will decide whether or not he can play against South Africa on Tuesday.

‘Sohan [Nurul] has testicular contusion. We advised him to stay in complete rest for three days. He will be evaluated again tomorrow [Monday]. According to the outcome, we will decide whether or not he can resume sporting activities the next day.’

Bangladesh have a very slim chance mathematically to make it to the semi-finals after losing their first three matches of the Super 12 against Sri Lanka, England and the West Indies respectively.

The Bangladesh team management, hence, have chosen against flying in a replacement for Shakib with the campaign likely to come to an end on Thursday.

‘The Bangladesh Team will not take a replacement for the player for the remainder of the competition,’ the media release said.