Taskin out for a month and a half
In just over a week, Bangladesh pacer Taskin Ahmed experienced the euphoria of being recalled to the national side for the New Zealand tour before suffering the crushing disappointment of an unfortunate injury all but ruling him out. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chief physician Debashish Chowdhury said yesterday that it was unlikely that the tall pacer, who still sits atop the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) wickets charts with 22 scalps, ' will be able to do functional sports activity before a month and a half has passed'.
With that timeframe, Taskin, who also impressed in domestic longer-version cricket and was included in both the ODI and Test squads, is almost certain to miss the entirety of the New Zealand tour that will end with the third Test on March 20.
"He has a lateral ligament injury in his left ankle. Since it's a Grade 3-plus injury it will take time," Chowdhury told The Daily Star yesterday. "Since we will follow a rehabilitation protocol, we will look at it on a weekly basis. We will give him non-weight-bearing rest for the first three weeks. After that we will start him on partial weight-bearing activities.
"Then we will see how he is taking it. I don't think he will be able to do functional sports activity before a month and a half has passed. And when he does start activity, it will take him time to reach match fitness."
It was an especially unfortunate turn of events for Taskin as he was injured playing a match for Sylhet Sixers against Chittagong Vikings on Friday that did not have any bearing on the tournament as the franchise were already eliminated from the playoff race. The injury occurred when he rolled his ankle on the boundary rope while trying to attempt a catch.
Chief selector Minhajul Abedin had said on Saturday that Taskin's replacement would be announced on Sunday, but there was no news till last night. It is believed that either one of Ebadat Hossain or Shafiul Islam would take his place.
