Mushfiqur Rahim opts out of remainder of Zimbabwe tour due to personal reasons

Bangladesh’s veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim will miss the remainder of the Zimbabwe tour, owing to personal reasons, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has confirmed.

Mushfiqur Rahim’s decision comes just a day after reports that he was ready to play in the T20Is after initially opting out of it. The cricketer’s earlier change of stance came, as he wanted to make himself available for the home series against Australia.

As per the latest development, though, Mushfiqur Rahim will miss the limited-overs series against Zimbabwe altogether. A BCB statement in this regard informed:

“Bangladesh batsman Mushfiqur Rahim will miss the remainder of the tour in Zimbabwe for family reasons. Mushfiqur will leave Harare later today and travel to Dhaka... The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) requests that all respect the privacy of Mushfiqur and his family at this time."

Bangladesh are scheduled to play three ODIs against Zimbabwe in Harare on July 16, 18 and 20. That will be followed by three T20Is at the same venue from July 23 to 27.

Bangladesh defeated Zimbabwe by 220 runs in the one-off Test in Harare. Mahmudullah was the Man of the Match for his unbeaten 150 in the first innings, but his knock was overshadowed by his sudden decision to retire from Test cricket.

JUST IN: Mushfiqur Rahim will miss the remainder of the Zimbabwe tour for personal reasons. He is expected to leave for Dhaka later today. pic.twitter.com/D12nK0kF5k

— ICC (@ICC) July 14, 2021

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Mushfiqur Rahim’s participation in Australia series in doubt

Following his decision to quit the Zimbabwe tour midway, Mushfiqur Rahim’s participation in the upcoming home series against Australia is in doubt. The BCB and Cricket Australia (CA) had decided that all players must be in quarantine for ten days before entering the bio-bubble for the Bangladesh-Australia series in Dhaka.

Both Bangladesh and Australia are likely to arrive on July 29 for the limited-overs series, which will feature five T20Is to be played between August 2 and August 8 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka.

Australia are currently taking on West Indies in the limited-overs series in the Caribbean, while Bangladesh are also preparing to face Zimbabwe in white-ball matches.

Najmul Hossain Shanto's 6 sixes was the highest for Bangladesh in an innings in the Test series against Zimbabwe.#BANvZIM #RiseOfTheTigers pic.twitter.com/QwNYBH5dBU

— Bangladesh Cricket (@BCBtigers) July 14, 2021

Apart from Rahim’s participation, the Bangladesh-Australia series itself is under a cloud following the rise in COVID-19 cases in Bangladesh.

The country went into a strict lockdown at the start of the month, which will be lifted on Thursday July 15, ahead of Eid al-Adha, which will be celebrated from July 20 to 22.