Ahead of the Dhaka Test against Pakistan starting on December 4, ace Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan joined the national team on Thursday.
Shakib started practice alone a few days ago, but he needed to get tested for Covid-19 and return negative to join the national team.
On Thursday afternoon, he practised with the team and later joined the team hotel. Shakib missed the first Test due to a hamstring injury that he sustained on October 29 against West Indies during the T20 World Cup.
Read: ICC T20 World Cup 2021: Shakib Al Hasan on his way to reach another milestone
Bangladesh lost the first Test by eight wickets in Chattogram despite some wonderful displays by Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim and Taijul Islam. Liton hit his maiden Test ton, Mushfiqur posted 91, and Taijul, the left-arm spinner, scalped seven wickets.
They were bettered by the fast bowlers of Pakistan- Shaheen Afridi and Hasan Ali, and Pakistan opener Abid Ali hits a century and posted 91 as well.
The hosts suffered immensely in the first Test due to the lack of an extra bowler. That deficit might be negotiated well in the presence of Shakib who will also be a great option for batting.
Bangladesh have four uncapped players in the Dhaka Test squad— Mohammad Naim, Rejaur Rahman Raja, Shohidul Islam and Mahmudul Hasan Joy. Yasir Ali Rabbi was also uncapped ahead of the first Test, and the batter got his maiden cap in that match in Chattogram which is also his hometown.
However, Bangladesh released right-handed opener Saif Hassan, who was diagnosed with typhoid recently. BCB did not call any replacement for him.
Along with Shakib, Bangladesh also included Taskin Ahmed for the Dhaka Test. The right-arm pacer played the T20I series, but he got injured and was ruled out of the first Test.
Abu Jayed and Ebadot Hossain were in Bangladesh’s pace-bowling attack, but they failed to help the team properly.
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With this series, Bangladesh started the new cycle of the ICC World Test Championship. In the previous cycle, Bangladesh played a total of seven Tests and failed to win any of them.
Pakistan team has also started preparation for the Dhaka Test. A few members of the Pakistan team including captain Babar Azam took part in an optional training session on Thursday.
After this series, Bangladesh will tour New Zealand for a two-match series. The Tigers will fly for New Zealand on December 9.