Bangladesh have been handed a massive setback ahead of the two-match Test series against Australia, with pacer Ebadot Hossain being ruled out of the series. The two-match series, which is part of the ongoing World Test Championship, will begin on August 13 in Darwin. Ebadot will miss the series as he is set to welcome his first child.
Moreover, there is a great deal of uncertainty prevailing over the availability of Nahid Rana for the opening Test as the side is awaiting the results of scans on his side injury. Amid the disappointing developments, there is also positive news for Bangladesh, with wicketkeeper-batter Litton Das expected to recover from a calf issue ahead of the series. Bangladesh are scheduled to touch down in Australia early next month ahead of a three-day warm-up match against a Cricket Australia XI in Darwin from August 3.
"It will be tough in Australia, but the positive is that we will travel there early...10-12 days in advance," Ashraful was quoted as saying by the ICC.
"We will have the opportunity to play a three-day practice match, and hopefully, if all our players are fit, we will be able to perform well there," he added.
Ashraful also expressed belief in Bangladesh's batters to bounce back strongly following their struggles in the recent Test against Zimbabwe, where they were bundled out for 140 and 185.
"Our batters did really well over the last seven months. One series can go wrong; one Test match went bad, but in the four Tests before that, our batters played extremely well. See, we can lose one or two games in different conditions. After playing so well over the last seven months, there is no reason to be demoralised after losing one or two matches, I believe. Obviously, they have gained experience from playing in different conditions," he said.