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Shakib likely to lead in second Test

Mashrafe Mortaza, the captain for the series, is expected to return to action only after the results of a scan on his right knee

Ajay S Shankar
Ajay S Shankar
15-Jul-2009
Shakib Al Hasan was the stand-in captain for Mashrafe Mortaza for the last two days of the first Test  •  AFP

Shakib Al Hasan was the stand-in captain for Mashrafe Mortaza for the last two days of the first Test  •  AFP

Shakib Al Hasan is likely to take over from Mashrafe Mortaza as captain of the Bangladesh team for the second Test against West Indies starting Friday at St George's, Cricinfo has learnt. Mashrafe, the captain for the series, is expected to return to action only after the results of an MRI scan that was conducted on his right knee in Grenada on Tuesday is analysed by a surgeon in Melbourne.
"At this point, it is unlikely that Mortaza will play the second Test," sources in the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) told Cricinfo. "The obvious alternative is Shakib, who was stand-in captain for Mortaza for the last two days of the first Test."
Mortaza injured his knee while bowling on the third day of the first Test in St Vincent and the team went on to register a historic 95-run victory over a second-string West Indies side.
Rabeed Imam, the BCB spokesperson, confirmed that Mortaza underwent a knee scan at St George's in Grenada on Tuesday. "The scan has shown a muscle stress in the knee, and not a ligament tear, as feared earlier," Imam told Cricinfo. "The results will be sent to David Young, the surgeon in Melbourne who has treated Mashrafe on previous occasions. The team management will wait for a final word from Young before a decision is taken."
Mortaza, who took over as captain from Mohammad Ashraful last month, has been hit by a series of knee and back injuries since his Test debut in 2001. This time, the Bangladesh selectors have named fast bowler Nazmul Hossain as back-up for the second Test following which the two teams will play three ODIs and one Twenty20 international.

Ajay Shankar is a deputy editor at Cricinfo