Will Najmul Hossain be available for for 1st Pakistan Test?
What's the story
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is optimistic about the availability of Test captain Najmul Hossain for the first Test match against Pakistan. The game is set to start on May 8 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. However, Najmul had rested after suffering a hamstring injury during his century in the third ODI against New Zealand in Chattogram.
Recovery hopes
'It didn't seem that bad to me'
BCB's chief physician Debashish Chowdhury sounded hopeful about Najmul's quick recovery from the injury. "It [the injury] didn't seem that bad to me," he told Cricbuzz on Monday. He added, "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."
Condition update
Najmul can walk without any discomfort
Chowdhury further clarified that Najmul is not in pain at the moment and can walk without any discomfort. "He has no pain at this moment and there is no pain while walking," he added. However, the physician emphasized that they will conduct a physical examination of the captain on Tuesday to assess his fitness for the upcoming Test match against Pakistan.
Strategic shift
Bangladesh's aggressive approach in Test series against Pakistan
BCB's chief selector Habibul Bashar has hinted at a change in Bangladesh's strategy for the Test series against Pakistan, focusing more on aggressive cricket. "This series we are going to play is part of our Test Championship," he said at a press conference. "Our plan is to perform well in this Test Championship. Earlier we didn't do very well, so we want to take ourselves a bit higher from there."
Squad details
New faces in Bangladesh squad for Test series against Pakistan
The 15-member squad for the two-match Test series against Pakistan includes senior players like Mushfiqur Rahim, Mominul Haque, and Taijul Islam. They are all training at the SBNS. New faces in the squad are attacking opener Tanzid Hasan Tamim and Amite Hasan, who has a strong first-class record. This is part of Bangladesh's plan to adopt a more aggressive style of play in Tests.
Stats
Here are his Test numbers
Shanto has slammed eight centuries in Test cricket. He also has five half-centuries to his name. He currently has 2,298 runs from 39 Tests at an average of 32.36. His strike rate in the format reads 53.59. Last year, Shanto raced past 1,000 Test runs at home. Across 22 home Tests, he has recorded 1,065 runs at 26.62.