Injured Enamul, Naeem out of SL tour

A day after he made the Test side for the first time in more than three years, Bangladesh left-arm spinner Enamul Haque jnr has lost his spot on the tour of Sri Lanka because of a hamstring injury suffered during training on Monday. Middle-order batsman Naeem Islam was also ruled out with a right quadriceps tear.

The selectors named uncapped batsman Marshall Ayub and left-arm spinner Elias Sunny as replacements. It is the first time Marshall was picked in the senior side. He was always a likely call-up but Sunny's selection is confusing, especially in light of what chief selector Akram Khan said the previous day while announcing the 15-man squad.

Enamul had close competition from left-arm spinners Mosharraf Hossain and Saqlain Sajib, but the selectors went for Sunny after it was ascertained that Enamul's injury would keep him away from the Test series. "Enamul complained today morning of left hamstring pain," Bangladesh's physio Vibhav Singh said. "After assessment it was found he has a grade one hamstring tear. This will see him receiving physiotherapy and rehabilitation for about seven to ten days."

Naeem suffered his injury while trying to stop a ball with his foot during a BPL match for Chittagong Kings. He stepped on the ball carelessly and slipped. He was carried off on a stretcher, though the Kings management played down the injury at the time.

Naeem missed four BPL matches after that before playing the second semifinal against Sylhet Royals. He later appeared for North Zone in the BCL final, so it is uncertain who made the decision for him to play despite hurting his quadriceps. "Naeem has a grade two quadriceps tear of the right leg," Vibhav said. "He has pain and weakness on testing. He will need to have physiotherapy and rehabilitation for at least two to three weeks."

Naeem's replacement Marshall scored more than 1000 runs in the first-class season. He is the highest run-scorer in the NCL - 604 runs in seven matches - and BCL - 465 runs in three matches - and scored a double-century both the two first-class competitions. Sunny played three NCL matches this season, taking 10 wickets, as he was busy with the senior team at the time. He took 13 wickets at an average of 37.15 in the BCL.