Bangladesh head coach gives injury update of Shakib Al Hasan ahead of ODI World Cup 2023 clash against India

India will play against Bangladesh in their fourth match of the ODI World Cup 2023 campaign at Maharastra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune. Ahead of the match Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan picked up an injury while fielding in the last match against New Zealand. However, he bowled all his 10 overs. But it was visible that he was in pain during the match and for that, he didn't turn up for the post-match conference as well.

Ahead of the clash against India Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha gave an update about their skipper. During the pre-match press conference, Hathurusingha was asked about the availability of the veteran cricketer. He stated that if Shakib is feeling well then only they would risk him and play in the game against the Men in Blue. 

Talking about the pitch he said that Pune’s pitch he said it to be batting-friendly.  Their main concerns have been the batting as they have struggled to put up runs on the board in the ongoing marquee event.  

If he is not ready to play, we won't risk him: Chandika Hathurusingha

The head coach stated, "If he is not ready to play, we won't risk him. But if he's ready, then there's a chance of him playing tomorrow. He had a good batting session yesterday and did a little bit of running between the wickets. We did a scan today, so we are waiting for the results. At the moment he is okay. We haven't tried with bowling yet. So, he will come tomorrow morning and we will assess him again and then make a decision."

He further added, "Yeah, this wicket is probably the best batting wicket we came across so far. And even the practice wickets were similar, really good. We had a really good net session yesterday. As you rightly said, we haven't put up complete batting performance, or to that matter, complete performance with the ball and bat so far. So, we are expected to do as a complete performance. And we know that when we play as a team and we perform to our capabilities and we have beat big teams. We have done well in the past. So, I think fingers crossed, we are due for one of those days."