Bangladesh batter Mushfiqur Rahim ruled out of Test series against Sri Lanka

Sylhet [Bangladesh], March 19 (ANI): Bangladesh batter Mushfiqur Rahim has been forced to pull out of a two-match Test series against Sri Lanka due to a fractured thumb, as per ESPNcricinfo.
The first test begins in Sylhet on Friday, followed by a match in Chattogram on March 30.
Bangladesh physio Bayjedul Islam Khan said Mushfiqur will need at least three weeks to recuperate from the fracture.
The 36-year-old was injured during the second over of the third ODI against Sri Lanka on Monday. He was struck by a Taskin Ahmed delivery on his right thumb and immediately grasped his hand in agony. The team physio worked on him briefly before Mushfiqur resumed his wicketkeeping duties and went on to score a match-winning, unbeaten 37 in Bangladesh's 236-run chase.
"After the match, Mushfiqur underwent an X-ray examination in Dhaka, which revealed an avulsion fracture on the MIP joint of his right thumb. He is currently undergoing conservative management for his injury and is expected to be sidelined for around three to four weeks, consequently ruling him out of participation in the Test series against Sri Lanka," Bayjedul said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
Mushfiqur's departure is a serious blow to Bangladesh's batting lineup. He has played 88 Tests, the most by any Bangladeshi player, and scored 5676 runs at an average of 38.09. Mushfiqur was also in top form throughout the ODI series, finishing second only to Najmul Hossain Shanto in terms of runs scored.
The Bangladesh selectors have yet to announce Mushfiqur's replacement, although they don't have many options with sufficient red ball expertise. Soumya Sarkar, Towhid Hridoy, and Tanzid Hasan are potential candidates, while Jaker Ali and Anamul Haque are fresh from the ODI squad. Another option might be 37-year-old Naeem Islam, who played his last eight Tests in 2012. Naeem has been in excellent red-ball form recently, finishing the BCL 2023-24 as the leading run-scorer and the NCL 2023-24 as the equal second-highest run-getter.
Earlier, Bangladesh named a strong 15-member squad for the first Test against Sri Lanka. The wicketkeeper batter and former captain Litton Das returns to Bangladesh's Test team after missing the previous series against New Zealand due to paternity leave.
Litton was replaced by Najmul Hossain Shanto for the series, and the latter was later named captain of all three formats last month.
Sri Lanka won the T20I series 2-1 before Bangladesh came back to win the ODI leg by the same margin. (ANI)