Injury forces Shakib out of opener against Kenya
A finger injury has ruled out Shakib-Al-Hasan, the Bangladesh allrounder, from the first match of the four-nation Twenty20 tournament against Kenya
Cricinfo staff
01-Sep-2007
Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh allrounder, will miss the first match of the four-nation Twenty20 tournament against Kenya in Nairobi after he injured his finger at practice on Friday.
"Shakib has an impact fracture on his right index finger," Azmal Ahmed, the Bangladesh physio, told tigercricket.com. Whether Shakib will be fit to play in the rest of the matches of this tournament and the Twenty20 World Championship, starting September 11 in South Africa, will be clear over the next few days as Ahmed continues to monitor his situation.
The tournament, which Bangladesh, Kenya and Pakistan are viewing as practice ahead of the Twenty20 World Championship, opens today with Kenya taking on Bangladesh and Pakistan playing Uganda.
Mohammad Ashraful, the Bangladesh captain, felt the tournament would be ideal preparation for the World Championship as the conditions in Kenya were similar to those in South Africa. "Kenya will be especially tough at home while Pakistan are a world-class team," he said.
The tournament ends on September 4 after each side has played the other three once, following which Bangladesh, Kenya and Pakistan will head to Johannesburg for the big event.