Finger injury rules Shakib out of first Sri Lanka Test

Shakib Al Hasan has been ruled out of the first Test against Sri Lanka, with a finger injury he sustained during the tri-series final in Mirpur on Saturday. Shakib injured his left little finger which resulted in bruising and swelling, and there is even a chance of him missing the rest of the tour upto February 18, when Sri Lanka play a T20 in Sylhet. Mahmudullah will lead the Test side in Shakib's absence.

Bangladesh's selectors have drafted the left-arm spinner Sunzamul Islam and the legspinner Tanbir Hayder into the squad for the first Test following news of Shakib's injury. Sunzamul, Tanbir and offspinner Naeem Hasan are the three uncapped players in the squad.

Left-arm spinner Sunzamul Islam and leg-break bowler Tanbir Hayder have been drafted in the Bangladesh squad for the first Test against Sri Lanka starting in Chittagong on 31 January. Bangladesh have already lost captain Shakib Al Hasan from the first Test team due to a finger injury sustained during the final of the Rocket Tri-Nation Series today (Saturday). Sunzamul and Tanbir join Bangladesh Under 19 off-spinner Naeem Hasan as the three uncapped cricketers in the squad.

Shakib sustained the injury in the 42nd over of the Sri Lanka innings when he attempted to run out Dinesh Chandimal. But as he swooped forward, he fell awkwardly on his left hand. Shakib writhed in pain before being taken off the ground to the hospital where he had an X-ray. BCB's senior physician Debashis Chowdhury said the X-ray report was clear but the injury required stitches.

"The x-ray did not find any fracture," Chowdhury stated in a BCB release. "However, there is subluxation/joint sprain at the base of the little finger on his left hand. He has been assessed by a cosmetic surgeon and necessary repairs have been done. The affected finger will have to be immobilized for at least a week before further assessment is made which means he is out of the first Test in Chittagong."

Mahmudullah will step up having been made Shakib's deputy in December. The Test series would have been Shakib's first in his second stint as captain, and his first since the Australia Tests back in July-August last year. He had been granted rest for the South Africa Tests in September-October.

The first Test begins on January 31 in Chittagong and the second on February 8 in Mirpur.