Shamim to make World Cup debut

Bangladesh youngster Shamim Hossain is set for his World Cup debut after a hamstring injury ruled Shakib Al Hasan out of the World Cup.

It was the third injury blow for the Tigers in this World Cup, after Mohammad Saifuddin and Nurul Hasan Sohan. The former was replaced by Rubel Hossain and Sohan is likely to be fit for Bangladesh’s final game of the Super 12 stage against Australia.

With only 13 members available now, the Tigers are struggling to put together an XI for their match against South Africa on Tuesday.

Ahead of the game, Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo said that both Soumya Sarkar and Shamim Hossain will be playing against the Proteas, with the latter set for his World Cup debut.

“I still feel we’ve got enough cover for the last two games. We’ve got Shamim, who has been the backup batsman. And Soumya was a backup batsman. Those two batsmen will definitely be in the starting 11 tomorrow. I think we’ve covered all bases and got enough cover for the rest of the games going forward,” Domingo said.