Najmul Hossain Shanto is recovering from illness and could join the Bangladesh squad in the UAE by October 6 ahead of the one off Test against Afghanistan.
The Bangladesh Test captain missed the Asian Games in Japan because of fever. He also could not travel with his teammates when they left for the UAE.
Shanto had been ill since Bangladesh arrived in Japan. His fever continued even after he returned home four days later.
The BCB later conducted tests to find the cause of the fever. The results showed an infection. He also tested negative for influenza and COVID 19.
BCB chief selector Habibul Bashar remains hopeful that Shanto will be ready for the Test. He expects the captain to travel on October 6 if his recovery continues as planned.
“I am hopeful that he will be available for the opening Test against Afghanistan,” Bashar told Cricbuzz on Friday.
“He hasn’t been ruled out yet and I’ve spoken with him. When you have such a fever the body gets weak and in Japan he was stuck in the hotel and he found it hard to eat food in the hotel as he couldn’t go out.”
“But now he’s feeling alright and overall he’s in good shape,” he added.
Bangladesh will face Afghanistan in the one off Test from October 9 to 13 at the Sheikh Zayed International Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
The two teams will then take part in an ODI tri series with Zimbabwe from October 17 to 23.
The first two matches will take place in Abu Dhabi before the tournament moves to Sharjah. Shanto is also expected to play an important role in the ODI series.
