Bangladesh’s injury woes continue as star opener Tamim Iqbal gets ruled out of solitary Test against Afghanistan

Tamim Iqbal. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Ahead of the solitary Test against Afghanistan, the home side Bangladesh have suffered a huge setback as their star opener Tamim Iqbal has been ruled out of the solitary Test series. Iqbal sustained a lower back injuryThe only Test will commence on Wednesday, June 14, at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka.

As per the team management, the batter was under supervision for his back injury and there was an attempt to better the functional ability of his lower back. Besides, Tamim has also been facing stiffness apart from backache. Hence, given his current condition, playing five days of red-ball cricket seems highly unlikely for the Bangla batter.

“Tamim has been experiencing lower back pain which has troubled him from time to time. Our treatment and procedures focused on reducing the pain and improving his functional ability but unfortunately, his condition hasn’t improved sufficiently for him to play the Test match,” Bangladesh team physiotherapist, Muzadded Alpha Sany, was quoted as saying in a statement released by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).

“He has felt stiffness and pain while batting and fielding in training and has not been able to complete the physical preparation required to play for five days,” he further added.

Shakib Al Hasan will also miss Dhaka Test along with Tamim Iqbal

Notably, the Southpaw did not play against India last year after he picked up a groin injury. Post that, he returned for the ODI series against England. Moreover, Iqbal also played the home and away ODI series against Ireland as well. This setback for the hosts comes after their regular Test skipper, Shakib Al Hasan, got ruled out due to a finger injury. Consequently, Litton Das will be leading the Bangla side. Meanwhile, from the Afghan side, their star spinner Rashid Khan has already been ruled out.

Now, speaking of the last Test played by both nations, Afghanistan played their last Test in March 2021 against Zimbabwe. It is worth mentioning that the Afghan side won one game against the Bangla Tigers out of six games they have played in 2019. They had won the Test by a mammoth margin of 224 runs.

While the hosts, Bangladesh last clashed with Ireland at home in Mirpur in April 2023. They clinched victory in the One-Off Test comfortably by a margin of seven wickets, whereby Mushfiqur Rahim starred with the bat for the home side with a scintillating century in the first innings.