Shakib's absence a big loss: Mahmudullah

Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah has termed Shakib Al Hasan's absence for the first Test against Sri Lanka, starting today (Wednesday), a 'big loss', but expects his team to 'be on top' as he steps into the all-rounder's shoes to lead the side. Shakib was handed captaincy for the series, but was ruled out due to a finger injury that he sustained before the final of the recently concluded tri-nation series, reports Cricbuzz.

"It is a big loss. He is a very important player in our team," Mahmudullah told reporters on the eve of the Test. "They have been playing good cricket but I personally feel that we will be on top on home soil. We are without Shakib, but we have a balanced side with spinners, pace bowlers and quality batsmen," he said.

Bangladesh have packed their squad with spin-bowling options. They had named 17-year-old uncapped all-rounder Naeem Hasan for the first Test along with Mehedi Hasan and Taijul Islam. However, after Shakib's exit through injury, they have gone on to bring back veteran spinner Abdur Razzak, while also including Tanbir Haider and Sanjamul Islam. Mahmudullah expects the Chittagong track to be spin- friendly.

"You can guess what is going to happen with six spinners in the side. It will probably be a spin-friendly pitch. We rely on our spinners in home conditions, so we will try to back them. At the same time our batsmen have to take the responsibility. We have to do the basics right - pick up wickets early if we bowl first or put together partnerships so that we can get a big score," he said.

Besides missing Shakib, Bangladesh also go into the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka at the back of a tri-series final defeat, but Mahmudullah doesn't want his players to get bogged down by it.