Bangladesh star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has been test positive for Covid-19 which has ruled him out of the first Test Sri Lanka which is slated to start from May 15 in Chattogram.
Shakib tested positive in a PCR and a rapid antigen test, pre-requisites for joining the team. The 35-year-old was supposed to join the Bangladesh Test squad on Wednesday, two days after the players started training in Chattogram on Monday.
According to a Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) press release quoted by the cricket website, he will now recover in self-isolation and will be re-tested in due course.
"Both tests have returned positive results. He will now recover in self isolation and will be re-tested in due course. He has been ruled out of the first Test,” the Bangladesh Cricket Board said in a statement.
Selector Habibul Bashar said that they are yet to decide on a possible replacement. "I have just heard the news. As he has tested positive, he will surely miss the first Test. But at the moment, we are not thinking about a replacement. We will decide on that later," Bashar said.
The second and final Test will be played at Mirpur from May 23. Shakib's unavailability is a major blow to the home side who are already without Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taskin Ahmed, who weren't picked up in the squad due to injuries.
Bangladesh had earlier named all-rounder Mosaddek Hossain as cover for the injured Mehidy. Shoriful Islam is in the Test squad but his participation is subject to a fitness test ahead of the game.
It is the fifth Test that Shakib will miss since playing one against Pakistan back in December last year. He skipped the New Zealand series due to personal reasons and then had to miss the matches against South Africa due to illness in his family.
Earlier this year, the Bangladesh batters strained to perform in the two-match Test series against South Africa. Shakib’s absence means that their middle-order will further be depleted. But the Tigers can take heart from the fact that they defeated New Zealand at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui without Shakib in their playing XI.
