Shakib to join squad for Nidahas Trophy

In an interesting turn of events, Bangladesh's ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has been added to the squad for the ongoing Nidahas Trophy 2018 tournament and BCB said that he will join the team in Colombo today.

Tigers still have a chance to make the final despite their loss to India last night and the T20 skipper joining the squad could help with urgency among the Tigers' squad.

BCB media release added that Shakib has recovered from the injury which saw him sit out the Test and T20 series at home. He was initially included in the squad for the Nidahas Trophy but after an assessment of his injury, it was decided that it would be best to not risk the left-hander in the T20I tri-series.

Shakib will join the squad this afternoon at Colombo. It is however not yet clear whether he is fit enough to play in a competitive match.

Coach Courtney Walsh said at a press conference today that an assessment on Shakib's injury situation will take place and only then a decision can be reached on whether he can play.

"He is on his way here. He will have to be assessed like any other player so we will have a look at him to see if he is fit enough to play.

"And if he is fit enough to play then obviously with someone of his class and caliber they would make it into the side," Walsh said.

However, he also suggested that Shakib's arrival is not a sudden decision since the team was hoping that he will come back.

"No, he was here with the team before and we were expecting, we were hoping that he could be fit enough to come back to play. He has gone and done the Tests. There is no confusion, once he comes back, we will sit down everybody and see what is best," the current head coach reiterated.

On March 12, BCB physio Dr. Debashish Chowdhury had suggested that the all-rounder was making a positive recovery form the injury he suffered during the Tri-series ODI final against Sri Lanka at Dhaka.

The physio informed that anti-inflammatory injection was administered to Shakib and the medicine takes effect slowly but the all-rounder could get back to sporting activities within 7 to 10 days.

"The pain is getting better. Total progress is positive. If we can continue like this then he will return to sporting activities within this time frame (7 to 10 days)". he added.

Shakib was also seen batting at the Sher-e-Bangla, practicing knock downs. The physio had however warned that there is a considerable difference between being ready for sports activities and taking part in an actual match since there is the mental aspect of recovering from injury.