BAN vs AUS: Liton Das, Mustafizur Rahman likely to miss first T20I due to injury

Bangladesh would be hosting Australia for a five-match T20I series which is set to commence on August 3. However, ahead of the series, the Bangladesh team had to deal with a couple of injury blows. Liton Das and Mustafizur Rahman are the key players of the sides who might miss the initial matches owing to injury concerns.

Das had suffered a left thigh injury whilst the first T20I game against Zimbabwe. This resulted in him missing all the remaining matches of the series. An ankle injury on a tour match kept Mustafizur Rahman away from the action. He played just one ODI and one T20I during the entire tour of Zimbabwe. Even Soumya Sarkar is struggling with a groin niggle, which he picked up during the third T20I, whereas Shakib Al Hasan is also reported to be dealing with a long-standing groin injury.

The Bangladesh squad will reach the team hotel in Dhaka after they touch down the country on July 29. Australian team is currently in West Indies and is scheduled to reach to Dhaka on Thursday. The chief selector of Bangladesh Minhajul Abedin asserted that Liton and Rahman are likely to be available for the third match. He also pinned his hopes on the squad that triumphed over Zimbabwe in both the ODI and T20I series after registering a win in the one-off Test match.

“Liton and Mustafizur should be available from the second or third game. We are not too worried about them. They will be back. Overall, we are confident about the squad. We have just won a T20 series [away against Zimbabwe].” Said Minhajul Abedin as reported by ESPNcricinfo

Bangladesh have the winning momentum by their side

Bangladesh has had an extremely impressive outing against Zimbabwe. They completely outplayed the hosts in the tour to clinch both the ODI as well as the T20I series. Heading into this series against Australia, they will have their confidence boosted and would be keen to continue it further.

Australia, on the other hand, lost the T20I series to West Indies 4-1. The team struggled to bounce back as they could secure just a single win in the T20I series. Against Bangladesh, they will look to make the necessary tweaks and seal the holes in the ship to make an impact.