Sports Desk:

Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim is expected to be fit for the first Test against Pakistan that begins in Rawalpindi on August 21, as opener Mahmudul Hasan Joy was ruled out of the two-match series.

Mushfiq suffered a finger injury while Joy sustained a groin injury during the first four-day game against Pakistan A in Islamabad.

Bangladesh A salvaged a draw in the rain-hit game, largely dominated by the home side.

Joy was only the shining spot in Bangladesh’s disastrous batting show, hitting 65 in the first innings as Bangladesh were all out for just 122. Both of them couldn’t bat in the second innings due to their injury.

‘During a net session ahead of the second innings of the first four-day game, I received a finger injury. Hopefully I will recover very soon and will play the first Test,’ Mushfiq said in a video message sent by the Bangladesh Cricket Board on Saturday.

Mushfiq and Joy were included in the Bangladesh A squad as part of their preparation for the two-match Test series, as they have been out of competitive cricket for a long time.

Bangladesh, which set up four-day training camp in Lahore, had already moved to Rawalpindi for the opening Test.

‘We have some Test series coming up. So I think the game time will help the players who were in Bangladesh A squad. We wanted to have some practice

before the national team comes here. Hopefully it will be beneficial for us,’ he added.

‘It’s disappointing that the four-day game was interrupted by rain, so the practice was not ideal. In the first few days, we had some net sessions. However, we tried our best, but we couldn’t do well in the first innings.’

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Cricket Board’s chief physician, Debashis Chowdhury, informed that it will take three weeks for Joy to fully recover from his groin injury.

‘He [Joy] got hurt while fielding. It will take him about three weeks to recover,’ said Debashis.

Joy has been in superb form in red-ball cricket of late. Before playing 65 runs knock against Pakistan A, he scored 69 and 65 against Pakistan Shaheens in a four-day game for Bangladesh HP in Australia.

He also took 5-21 in that match to help Bangladesh HP win the game.

The BCB is yet to announce the replacement of Joy for the Test series against Pakistan. The second and final Test between the two sides will start in Karachi on October 30.