Mushfiqur injured but hopeful to play 1st Pak Test

Mere hours after the news of Mahmudul Hasan Joy getting ruled out of the two-Test series against Pakistan owing to a groin injury came to the fore, veteran batter Mushfiqur Rahim disclosed that he too has injured an injury just days before the series opener.

Both Joy and Mushfiqur took part in Bangladesh 'A' team's first four-day game against Pakistan Shaheens, which was part of their preparation for the upcoming series.

While Joy suffered an injury while fielding which ruled him out for three weeks, Mushfiqur hurt his finger while training, which kept him from batting in the second innings of the match, after making 14 off 27 balls in the first innings.

However, the wicketkeeper-batter was optimistic about recovering in time for the first Test in Rawalpindi, which will commence on August 21.

"I didn't bat [in second innings] because of my injury. I got hurt while batting in the nets. Hopefully, I will recover quickly and play the first Test," the 37-year-old said in a video sent to the media on Saturday.

Four batters of the 16-member Test squad – Mushfiqur, joy, Mominul Haque and Zakir Hasan – took part in that rain-hit four-day game, which ended in a draw. Out of them, only Joy could make a positive impression, making 65 in the first innings while the team got bundled out for 122.

Mushfiqur did not hide his disappointment at being unable to bat longer in the four-day game.

"The match didn't go our way. The weather was also not ideal. Pakistan Shaheens are a very good side, Umar [Amin] batted well. Nasim [Shah], Mir Hamza bowled really well. We had some young players in the 'A' team, hopefully they have learnt a lot," said Mushfiqur.

"We couldn't train sufficiently due to rain. I tried to do well, things didn't go my way."