Shakib Not Available In Sri Lanka Tests – BCB 

Bangladesh Cricket Board said on Tuesday Shakib al Hasan will skip the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka.

Bangladesh Cricket Board did not include Shakib for the upcoming white-ball series against Sri Lanka.

BCB’s cricket operation chairman Jalal Yunus told reporters on Thursday that the southpaw will not be available in the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, which is part of the third cycle of the ICC World Test Championship.

The Test series will be played following the white-ball series at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium from March 15. 

“He( Shakib) wanted a break from the entire series against Sri Lanka,” Jalal told reporters at a private function on Thursday.  

Shakib was struggling with his batting due to his eye problem during the beginning of the Bangladesh Premier League T20 tournament but as time passed he started to flourish with the bat, making 249 runs in 11 matches despite scoring only four runs from the opening five games that saw him not coming to bat on two occasions.

 The series against Sri Lanka that includes three T20 Internationals, three ODIs and two Tests is scheduled from March 4 at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium with the three-match T20 series opener.

The second and third T20I are scheduled respectively on March 6 and 9 at SICS. The three ODIs will be hosted by Chattogram at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on March 13, 15 and 18. The two-match Test series opener will be played from March 22–26 at the ZACS in Chattogram while the second and final Test will be played at SICS in Sylhet from March 30–April 3.

It is understood that Shakib might feature in the forthcoming Dhaka Premier League, country’s traditional list A tournament for Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club, that is scheduled from March 9 in order to get some more time in the middle with the bat as part of preparation for international cricket.