BCB hopeful of Najmul Hossain’s availability for first Pakistan Test

BCB hopeful of Najmul Hossain's availability for first Pakistan Test

Bangladesh Cricket Board officials said Monday they are hopeful Test captain Najmul Hossain will be available for the opening Test against Pakistan, beginning May 8 in Dhaka.

Senior red-ball players such as Mushfiqur Rahim, Mominul Haque and Taijul Islam are training at the SBNS. Najmul opted to rest after sustaining a hamstring injury during the third ODI against New Zealand in Chattogram.

The skipper visited the practice session and interacted with players training under Sohel Islam. He picked up the injury while scoring his first century in over two years.

"It didn't seem that bad to me," BCB chief physician Debashish Chowdhury told Cricbuzz. "He will come tomorrow and we will see him. From what I've heard, it didn't seem that bad."

"He has no pain at this moment, no pain while walking. We will examine him physically tomorrow."

Chief selector Habibul Bashar indicated a shift in Bangladesh's Test approach, with greater emphasis on attacking cricket.

Bangladesh have included attacking opener Tanzid Hasan Tamim in the Test setup for the first time, citing his white-ball credentials, while backing Amite Hasan's strong first-class record.

"This series is part of our Test Championship. We cannot proudly say we have done very well so far. Our plan is to perform well and take ourselves higher," Bashar said.

"To do that, we might play cricket differently—a more attacking style. We have taken a new opener as part of that plan. Our bowling is okay, we have the ability to take 20 wickets. If we can be consistent in batting, Bangladesh will do well. The style might change. I'm not saying Bazball, but the style might change."