Tamim unlikely in India T20 series

Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal’s return to International cricket is likely to be delayed as he suffered a muscle strain on the right side of the rib.

The injury also forced him to sit out from the second round of the
National Cricket League (NCL) in which his side Chattogram Division is playing against Barishal Division at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium.

A BCB physician said the opener needs seven-day rest for the time being after which he will be assessed to check if he is fit enough to play cricket.

“Tamim got the blow on his right rib. It’s a muscle strain. For the time
being he has been advised to rest for seven days,” BCB chief physician
Debashis Chowdhury said on Thursday.

Chowdhury, however, didn’t reveal whether Tamim could be the part of
the national team in Bangladesh’s three-match T20 series and two-match Test series in the next month.

Bangladesh will start the India tour with T20 series and the first match is on November 3 at Delhi.

“I don’t think it would affect his tour but after recovering from the
injury, he needs to be assessed further and then he needs to gain his match fitness, a thing that the team management will determine,” he added.

The first Test in on 14 November and by the time Tamim is expected to be completely fit.

Tamim took a short break from the cricket following his poor performance in World Cup and the subsequent three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka in which he also leads the side in absence of Mashrafe Bin Mortaza.

He returned to competitive cricket with the NCL and in the first round he made 30 and 46 runs in two innings against Dhaka Metro.

He was also due to play the second round and was heading to Fatullah, but he had to sit out the game because of enormous pain.