Bangladeshi wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim is returning on the 2nd T-20 against Afghanistan in Dhaka.
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| [Bangladeshi wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim] |
The day before the second T20 encounter versus Afghanistan, the players had an optional practise. On such a day, Mushfiqur Rahim has captured everyone's attention. There was a lot of speculation over Mushfiqur's recovery when he damaged his finger while exercising before the first match.
The good news is that Mushfiqur has batted in full power in the Bangladesh team's optional practise today at Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur. He batted with ease against spin and speed. So there will be no obstacles in the way of this veteran batsman's game against the Afghans in the series' final T20 encounter tomorrow.
Regarding Mushfiqur's comeback to the XI, BCB physio Bayezid Islam stated, "There were no cracks or anything like that." Yesterday, he was kept under surveillance. The swelling of the fingers has been noted to be gone. Today he batted. He bowled fast, batted in spin, and played throw down. Overall, she is fine. It will be decided if he will be retained in the starting XI for the second encounter.
With the T20 series against Afghanistan, Mushfiqur returns to the 20-over game. Mushfiqur was omitted from the roster for the most recent T20I series against Pakistan. If Mushfiqur gets a chance in the XI for the second match against Afghanistan, he would become the second Bangladeshi cricketer after Mahmudullah to play 100 international Twenty20 matches.
In that situation, the issue now is who will be left out of the starting XI for the first T20 encounter.
In lieu of Mushfiqur Rahim, teenage batsman Yasir Ali made his debut in the middle order in the opening match. He batted seventh yesterday and scored six runs on six balls.
Mohammad Naeem, the team's opening batsman, is also in doubt. Rhythmic batsman Liton Das batted at number three in the first match, while Naeem opened alongside newcomer Munim Shahriar.
If Mushfiqur returns in the last match, the team management might alter the top order to accommodate Mushfiqur in the middle order.