Sajidul replaces injured Rasel

Uncapped left-arm pacer Sajidul Islam was called up to replace injured pacer Syed Rasel in the Bangladesh squad in New Zealand, the Bangladesh Cricket Board said on Monday.
Rasel has been ruled out of the tour games after dislocating his left collar bone while fielding in the warm-up match against Northern Knights, which Bangladesh lost by seven wickets in Hamilton.
‘The decision was unanimous. It did not require a long discussion to name Sajidul as a replacement of Rasel. He is very much similar to Rasel and also has been in a very good form,’ said chief selector Rafiqul Alam.
Sajidul, the leading wicket-taker in the ongoing National Cricket League with 36 wickets in eight matches, will fly to New Zealand on Tuesday. He will be accompanied by selector Naimur Rahman.
Rasel on the other hand will most likely fly to Australia from New Zealand for a surgery, said chief selector Rafqul, though the BCB has yet to confirm the extent of his injury officially.
‘Rasel was examined by an orthopaedic surgeon in Hamilton today (Monday) and the specialist’s report is expected tomorrow (Tuesday) morning. He will undergo further investigation and treatment before a final assessment on his injury condition is made,’ said TigerCricket.com, the official website of the BCB.
Bangladesh will play their second warm-up game of the tour today, this time against the State Northern Knights at Seddon Park in Hamilton. Being handicapped by the injury to Rasel, Bangladesh have been forced to bring changes for the match, the website reported.
Besides Rasel, who is unlikely to return to action soon, batsman Tushar Imran will also sit out the game with a sore left shoulder, though his injury is not that much serious. Tushar, whose left arm is on a sling at the moment, is expected to be fit ahead of the Twenty20 match against New Zealand on December 23.
The Tigers, who will again field 12 players in the warm-up game, might also rest pace spearhead Mashrafee bin Murtaza. It means, Javed Omar, Mehrab Hossain Junior and Shahadat Hossain, who all missed the first warm-up match, will have their chances to play the game.
Bangladesh play the first of three one-dayers against the Kiwis on Dec 26. They will also play two Tests next month.