Bangladesh in shock: Mushfiqur Rahim sidelined indefinitely with severe finger fracture

The 37-year-old Bangladesh National Cricket Team wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim has been ruled out of the remainder of the ODI series against the Afghanistan National Cricket Team.

Mushfiqur Rahim has suffered a finger injury that will keep him out of the entire ODI series against the Afghanistan National Cricket Team, and there is currently no timeline for his return to competitive cricket.

Mushfiqur Rahim got injured in the first ODI against Afghanistan

Mushfiqur Rahim sustained an injury during the first ODI against Afghanistan, which was played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on November 6.

The veteran Bangladesh star had picked up the injury while keeping the wickets and then came out to bat at No.7 during Bangladesh's innings. He was not able to make any impact with the bat and got dismissed for 3-ball 1.

Bangladesh had received a target of 236 runs to chase and despite the dismissal of Tanzid Hasan early, they got off to a decent start. Soumya Sarkar (33) and skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto (47) scored good runs and Mehidy Hasan Miraz came up with a decent contribution of 28 runs.

The Tigers were heading towards the target quite well before an awful batting collapse happened. They suddenly went from 132/3 to 143/10 in no time and faced a shocking 92-run loss in the match

"Towards the end of Afghanistan's batting innings, Mushfiqur injured the tip of his left Index finger" - BCB physio

In an official statement issued by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), the team physio Delowar Hossain revealed that Mushfiqur injured the tip of his left Index finger while keeping wickets and an X-ray revealed a fracture.

"Towards the end of Afghanistan's batting innings, Mushfiqur injured the tip of his left Index finger while keeping wickets," team physio Delowar Hossain said in a BCB statement.

"An X-ray after the match has confirmed a fracture on his left Index near the DIP joint. He is under conservative management and is not available for the second and third ODIs. Further updates on his condition and expected recovery period will be provided in due course."

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Jaker Ali expected to take over wicketkeeping duties

With Bangladesh missing the services of Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das out with fever, the wicketkeeping duties will be handed to Jaker Ali.

Also, Bangladesh will be next traveling to West Indies for an all-format tour, and the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur is doubtful for those matches. The Tigers will play two Tests, three ODIs, and three T20Is on the West Indies tour later this month. Notably, Mushfiqur only plays Tests and ODIs, having already retired from T20I cricket.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh team will fly to the Caribbean after the conclusion of the ODI series against Afghanistan on November 11.

There is a possibility of Bangladesh having a new captain on the West Indies tour as Najmul Hossain Shanto has expressed his desire to quit captaincy and focus solely on his batting as he has been unable to contribute very well with the bat since becoming the skipper.