Stand-in Bangladesh Test captain Mominul Haque has admitted that the absence of key players like Shakib al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal in the two-match Test series will give a headache to the team management.
The diminutive left-handed batsman though expects the other players to take more responsibility when the India Tests get underway at Holkar Stadium Thursday.
Experienced opening batsman Imrul Kayes is in the squad, along with young opener Shadman Islam and rookie Saif Hasan, who has earned his first ever call-up.
Star Bangladeshi all-rounder @Sah75official, who is serving a one-year ban imposed by the @ICC, has now been dropped from the latest ODI and T20I player rankings.https://t.co/nDLY9auoSu#BCBTIGERS #BCB #TIGERS #BANGLADESHCRICKET #BANGLADESH #CRICKET #SHAKIBALHASAN #SHAKIB #SAH
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) November 13, 2019
It is likely that Imrul will open the innings with Shadman Thursday but picking Shakib’s replacement will be a tough decision as he has been a world-class player in both the batting and bowling departments.
“I think three players are missing for those two. Shakib bhai is equal to two players. So absence of Shakib bhai and Tamim bhai will be like missing three players. Yes, it will be challenging. But there is no scope of thinking about it too much now. We have to move away. I think due to their absence, everyone is now more focused as we are missing like three key players in the playing XI. In that sense, I think everyone will play with extra responsibility,” said Mominul during the pre-game press conference in Indore Wednesday.
Tamim missed the India tour due to personal reasons while Shakib is currently serving a one-year ban imposed by the International Cricket Council.
