Mash ruled out of SL tour

A hamstring injury has forced Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza out of the upcoming Sri Lanka tour, for which the team is scheduled to leave from Dhaka today.

During Bangladesh’s last practice session at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday, ahead of the three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka, Mashrafe pulled his hamstring while bowling at the nets and was later ruled out of the series. Chief selector Minhajul Abedin later informed the media on Mashrafe’s condition and added that all-rounder Forhad Reza would replace Mashrafe for the upcoming tour. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) later revealed that all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin was ruled out of the tour as well following a lower back injury and paceman Taskin Ahmed was named as his replacement.

The BCB named opener Tamim Iqbal as the Tigers’ captain for the tour through a press release yesterday.