The opener could be out of action for around two weeks with a groin injury
Mahmudul Hasan Joy scored 65 against Pakistan A earlier this week • PCB
Bangladesh could be without Mahmudul Hasan Joy for the start of their two-Test series in Pakistan with the opening batter suffering a groin injury. ESPNcricinfo has learned that the Bangladesh team management expects the injury to take around two weeks to heal, a timeframe that leaves him in doubt not just for the first Test in Rawalpindi, which is scheduled to run from August 21 to 25, but also the second Test in Karachi from August 30 to September 3.
Mahmudul is in Pakistan already, and played a four-day game for Bangladesh A against Pakistan A in Islamabad earlier this week. He scored 65 out of a Bangladesh A total of 122 in the first innings, and didn’t bat in the second innings as they finished with 153 for 5 on the last day.
The injury is set to upset a relatively settled opening combination, with Mahmudul and Zakir Hasan having batted at the top of the order in each of Bangladesh’s last five Tests. Of the other batters in the squad, Shadman Islam is likely to take Mahmudul’s place should he not be available for selection.
