Injured Shakib to miss second Test against West Indies

Shakib Al Hasan has been ruled out of the second Test against West Indies, beginning in Dhaka on February 11, because of the left-thigh injury that kept him away from large chunks of the action during the first Test in Chattogram.

According to a BCB statement, the board’s medical team will continue to treat Shakib, who will, however, leave the team’s bio-security bubble for the time being.

“After careful consideration it has been confirmed that he will not be available for the second Test,” read the BCB’s press statement.

Shakib picked up the injury during the second day’s play in Chattogram, when he attempted to stop a ball off his own bowling with his foot. He continued to bowl for a while longer, but neither batted nor bowled after leaving the field later that afternoon.

Bangladesh, who had a 171-run lead after the first-innings exchanges, eventually lost the Test by three wickets with debutant Kyle Mayers hitting a stunning 210* to take West Indies to victory. Shakib had scored 68 in nearly four hours’ batting in the first innings.

Shakib had earlier suffered a groin niggle during the third ODI against West Indies, on January 25 in Chattogram. He had left the field on that occasion too, and joined the national team’s training a few days before the first Test, which began on February 3.

Despite the injuries, Shakib’s return to international cricket following the one-year ICC ban has been a successful one. He was the Player-of-the-Series in the ODIs, where he returned 4-8 in the first game and hit 43* and 51 in the next two games as Bangladesh won 3-0.

No replacement has yet been announced by the Bangladesh selectors, who had earlier named an 18-man Test squad for the two matches. (ESPNCricinfo)