Not allowing the injury to hinder any selection processes for the Test unit, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has announced that Mahmuddulah would be included in the Test side as covered for injured Mushfiqur Rahim. He would now be the 7th player on the tour who will be present in all squads.
"During an emergency meeting yesterday that included the selectors, the board president [Nazmul Hassan] and myself, we decided that we can't take a chance with the injuries," Akram Khan, BCB cricket operations chairman said in a release by BCB.
"Because of the situation, we decided to make the squad bigger. We are 80% sure that he [Rahim] can play, but we don't want to take a chance. We want to have a backup batsman in the squad," he added.
The 35-year-old batting all-rounder last played a Test in February 2020 against Pakistan in Rawalpindi. In 49 Tests that he has been a part of till now, the Dhaka born has scored 2764 runs and taken 43 wickets. In the ongoing Dhaka Premier Division, the right-hander has scored 207 runs in 14 innings with a best of 62*, at an average of 23.00 and a strike rate of 111.89.
The Bangladesh side with two new coaches in Rangana Herath (spin bowling coach) and Ashwell Prince (batting consultant) leave for Zimbabwe on June 28 and would play their first match, the one-off Test, starting July 7.