Bangladesh batter to miss T20Is in Zimbabwe as well as home fixtures against Australia and New Zealand
“We have to keep players in quarantine for ten days ahead of the Australia series bio-bubble. We want to have as many options as possible as we won’t be able to call up players from outside the bio-bubble.”
Iqbal reportedly sustained the injury in Sri Lanka in April, but recovered enough to play the ODI series against them in May. He also played 11 matches in the T20 Dhaka Premier League, but the injury forced him to miss the Super League phase of the competition.
He went on to miss the one-off Test against Zimbabwe earlier this month, before saying that he would “manage” the injury and play the ODI series, chiefly because it is part of the World Cup Super League.
The decision to take time off came following a recommendation from Dr David Young, the Melbourne-based orthopedic surgeon, who many Bangladesh cricketers, including Iqbal and Mashrafe Mortaza, have consulted over the years.
Australia are expected to arrive in Dhaka next week to play five T20Is, scheduled from August 2 to 8. New Zealand are likely to play three or five T20Is in Dhaka starting early September, before England arrive in October to play three ODIs and three T20Is.
Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo’s Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84