Najmul Shanto Injury Update Issued By BCB Before Bangladesh Vs Pakistan Tests

Najmul Hossain Shanto [Source: AFP]

In a major update, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has shared fresh news about the national team’s captain Najmul Shanto. 

This comes just before the much-awaited two-match Test series against Pakistan. The series is set to begin on May 8 at Dhaka’s Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. 

Moreover, this series is part of the 2025–27 ICC World Test Championship cycle, which makes it even more important for Bangladesh.

Bangladesh announced squad for Pakistan Test series 

To begin with, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has officially announced a 15-player squad for the first Test match against Pakistan on Sunday. 

At the same time, it has been confirmed that Najmul Hossain Shanto will continue as the team’s captain. Meanwhile, Mehidy Hasan Miraz has been named as the vice-captain for this Test.

Furthermore, the first Test match will start on May 8 in Dhaka. After that, the second Test will take place on May 16 at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium. Therefore, the team has a tight schedule ahead.

Injury concern around Najmul Shanto

However, there has been some concern regarding Shanto’s fitness. On Monday, officials from the Bangladesh Cricket Board said they are hopeful that the captain will be fit and available for the first Test.

It is important to note that the concern arose because Najmul Shanto suffered a hamstring injury during the third ODI against New Zealand in Chattogram. 

As a result, he decided to take rest instead of joining full training sessions. Even so, he did visit the practice ground and spoke with teammates who were training under coach Sohel Islam.

Notably, Najmul Shanto had already shown signs of physical strain earlier. He retired at 50 due to cramps in the second ODI. However, he came back strongly in the next match and scored 105 runs in hot and humid conditions.

Notably, Bangladesh posted a competitive total of 265-8. In addition, Mustafizur Rahman’s five-wicket haul helped Bangladesh defeat New Zealand by 55 runs. Consequently, Bangladesh won the ODI series 2-1.

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BCB chief physician shares update on Najmul Shanto

Regarding his injury, the team doctor shared a positive update. "It [the injury] didn't seem that bad to me," BCB chief physician Debashish Chowdhury told Cricbuzz on Monday. "He (Najmul) will come tomorrow (Tuesday) and we will see him. And from what I've heard and the information I've received, it didn't seem that bad to me," he said.

Therefore, the team management remains hopeful about his quick recovery.

Meanwhile, several experienced Test players like Mushfiqur Rahim, Mominul Haque, and Taijul Islam are actively training at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium. These players are expected to play a key role in the upcoming series and are likely part of the final squad.

Bangladesh performing well in the ongoing white-ball series against NZ

At present, Bangladesh are ranked eighth in the World Test Championship standings. Because of this, the upcoming series against Pakistan is very important for improving their position.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh are also performing well in the ongoing white-ball series against New Zealand. They have already won the ODI series and also started the T20I series with a six-wicket victory.

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