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Bangladesh has suffered a massive blow ahead of their T20I series against Pakistan as their star batter Soumya Sarkar has been ruled out of the three-match outing due to a back injury. His replacement in the squad will be Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who is currently participating in the PSL 2025 playoffs with Lahore Qalandars.
Soumya Sarkar to miss T20I series against Pakistan
Soumya had previously missed the three T20Is against the UAE in Sharjah, a series Bangladesh ultimately lost 2-1. According to team physio Bayjedul Islam Khan, Soumya will require a couple of weeks to recover from the injury. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) confirmed the development on Thursday, acknowledging it as a setback ahead of the high-profile tour. The all-rounder has been experiencing pain on the right side of his lower back for the past week, and a comprehensive medical assessment led to this update on his condition.
"Following medical evaluation, it has been determined that the injury requires an extended rehabilitation period of approximately 10 to 12 days. This effectively means he will not be available for next week's three-match series in Pakistan," Bayjedul told, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
Interestingly, Bangladesh's selectors had initially dropped Mehidy Hasan Miraz from the T20I squad for the tours of the UAE and Pakistan. However, Mehidy has enjoyed a highly productive 2024-25 season. He was named Player of the Tournament in the BPL for his impressive tally of 355 runs and 13 wickets. Furthermore, he earned the Player of the Test Series award against Zimbabwe for taking three five-wicket hauls and scoring a century.
Mehidy is currently with his countrymen Shakib Al Hasan and Rishad Hossain in the Lahore Qalandars squad. He will join the Bangladesh team in Lahore after fulfilling his PSL commitments. Bangladesh is set to play three T20Is against Pakistan in Lahore on May 28, May 30, and June 1.
Originally planned as a five-match series, the T20I tour was shortened to three matches due to escalating diplomatic tensions between Pakistan and India. All matches will be played in Lahore from May 28 to June 1. In addition to Soumya Sarkar's unavailability, fast bowler Nahid Rana, fielding coach James Pamment, and trainer Nathan Kiely have also opted out of the series. The Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) Chairman of Cricket Operations, Najmul Abedeen Fahim, confirmed that Mustafizur Rahman will join the squad after completing his Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 commitments. Meanwhile, leg-spinner Rishad Hossain rejoined Lahore Qalandars on Thursday ahead of their PSL 10 Eliminator against Karachi Kings at the Gaddafi Stadium.
Bangladesh's updated squad for Pakistan T20Is:
Litton Das (c), Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Jaker Ali, Rishad Hossain, Mahedi Hasan (vice-capt), Tanvir Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, and Shoriful Islam
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