A finger injury has forced Mushfiqur Rahim to miss the first Bangladesh vs West Indies Test in Dhaka, but team physio Bayjedul Islam Khan expects the veteran batter to recover within "three days" and be available for selection for the second and final Test in Sylhet, starting on November 5.
Mushfiqur picked up the injury on Tuesday, the day before the Dhaka Test, when he was facing a net bowler. At the time the injury didn't appear too serious, but Khan confirmed that later assessments showed that Mushfiqur should not be risked.
"Mushfiqur Rahim got hurt on his index finger during practice yesterday. He was under observation afterwards. But there wasn't sufficient improvement till this morning," Khan said in a BCB statement. "It is a contusion injury. We are hopeful that he will recover in the next three days. He will be available for the next Test."
Bangladesh picked Towhid Hridoy in Mushfiqur's place. Hridoy has so far played just one Test match, earlier this year in July against Zimbabwe in Harare in June.
Mushfiqur has had a largely injury-free career. He sat out a Test more than two years ago, against Sri Lanka at home, because of personal reasons, which was also the last time Bangladesh played a home Test without Mushfiqur in their ranks. And the last time Mushfiqur missed a Test because of an injury was in November 2024 in the West Indies.
Mushfiqur became the first Bangladesh player to reach the landmark of 100 Tests last year, and since then has averaged over 40 in six matches. He made a duck and 81 in Bangladesh's last Test, against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi earlier this month.