Bangladesh suffered a massive setback ahead of the upcoming Asia Cup 2022 as pacer Hasan Mahmud and wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan Sohan have been ruled out of the showpiece event, beginning August 27.
Earlier, Bangladesh had already lost the services of experienced batter Liton Das, who was too, ruled out of the upcoming event due to an injury.
The loss of the two key players is a massive blow for the Bangla Tigers, who had finished up as runners-up thrice — in 2012, 2016 and 2018 — but have never won the continental trophy.
While Hasan is set to be unavailable for up to a month after he hurt his ankle during training last week, Nurul recently underwent surgery on an injured finger and needs time to rest the affected area.
Earlier, star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was announced captain of the Bangladesh side for the Asia Cup, however he has kept expectations low for his side at the six-team tournament.
“I have no goals,” Shakib was quoted as saying by ICC recently when asked about how his team will perform at the Asia Cup.
“My only aim is that we can do well in the (T20) World Cup and these are the preparations for it. If someone thinks that I can change things within one or two days or someone else will come to change it, then we are living in a fool’s kingdom. If you are able to think practically, our true development will be seen when the team really does well in the World Cup in three months’ time,” he added.
On the other hand, former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson believes that Bangladesh had made the right call by bringing in Shakib as captain.
“To have a leader of Shakib’s quality, I think it’s going to re-energise them,” Watson said on The ICC Review.
“He’s so experienced. He has captained Bangladesh a lot of times. He has captained in a lot of franchise tournaments as well, especially in the Bangladesh Premier League,” he added.
Bangladesh Asia Cup squad:
Shakib Al Hasan (c), Anamul Haque Bijoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain, Musaddek Hossain Saikat, Mahmud Ullah, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Mohammad Shaif Uddin, Mustafizur Rahman, Nasum Ahmed, Shabbir Rahaman, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain, Parvez Hossain Emon, Mohammad Naim.