Bangladesh fretting over Mahmudullah injury as tear is confirmed

The allrounder suffered the injury while batting during The Tigers' 62-run victory over Afghanistan in Southampton but he has a week to recover until the key clash with India

Mahmudullah, the Bangladesh allrounder, suffered a minor calf tear during the 62-run win over Afghanistan which could force him to miss the key group stage clash with India next week.

The 33-year-old was suffering for much of his innings with the bat, hobbling between the wickets during his 38-ball 27 which included two fours.

As a result, he did not take to the field for Afghanistan's pursuit of 263 to win in Southampton and was replaced by Sabbir Rahman.

His absence proved inconsequential as Bangladesh strolled to victory to keep their semi-final hopes alive, but the success came at a cost.

"The scan results showed a grade-one tear on Riyad's right calf," technical director Khaled Mahmud told The Daily Star. 

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"At the moment, that is all I can say as I have not spoken to the physio [Thihan Chandramohan] yet. 

"I can tell you more about the recovery period in the morning after speaking to the physio."

Such injuries generally take between seven days and two weeks to heal, which could rule Mahmudullah out of the remainder of Bangladesh's World Cup campaign.

They face India at Edgbaston on July 2 before taking on Pakistan in their final group game at Lord's on July 5. Victory in both games could see them sneak into the semi-finals, where Mahmudullah would be expected to be available.

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