||CF Correspondent||

Shadman Islam is set to make his debut as the Bangladesh selectors announced a 13-member squad for the second Test against Windies, on Tuesday though they are not ruled out the possibility of Tamim Iqbal making a return into the squad.

There was no place for Imrul Kayes while Tamim Iqbal continues to recover from a side strain they will keep the door open for him if he manages to regain the confidence of playing the second Test as he is seen to be having net sessions recently.

Bangladesh received a huge blow as Tamim Iqbal suffered a side strain during a practice session at the academy premises on Tuesday (November 13). The opener was eyeing to make a comeback in the series against West Indies as he was going through a rehabilitation program after he was ruled out of the Asia Cup as he sustained wrist injury in the opening game against Sri Lanka. The opener is seen to be involved in net session during this week but despite the effort his chances were slim as he was found out not to be totally fit.

“There is no specific update of Tamim’s injury status so we did not include him. But if he is available we can include him anytime. That is why we had announced 13-member squad,” chief selector Minhajul Abedin told Cricfrenzy on Tuesday.

Bangladesh received another blow as Imrul Kayes was ruled out due to his shoulder pain though it paved the way for uncapped opener Shadman as he is expected tol partner Soumya Sarkar as the hosts will look to seal a 2-0 series win after claiming the first Test by 64 runs.

Kayes, after his magnificent form in the limited-overs series against Zimbabwe, has seen a dip in runs. He had three single-digit scores in the two Tests and failed to make an impression in the first Test against West Indies as well. However, he scored a crucial 44 in the first Test on a turning track and ensured Bangladesh got off to a good start despite an early loss.

“Imrul Kayes is having pain on his shoulder and that is the reason we opted to rest him,” said Minhajul. “We are looking forward to see how Shadman respond to international cricket if he makes it into the XI as he is scoring runs quite consistently in the domestic tournament [Highest scorer in NCL]”

There was just one change while the selectors decided to go in with a winning combination. Islam, who has played 42 first-class games, has 3023 runs at an average of 47.50.

Ahead of the first Test, when there was considerable amount of confusion over Tamim's availability, the selectors had added Islam as cover. His innings of 73 against the visitors in the warm-up game helped him make it to the side, coach Steve Rhodes had confirmed ahead of the series.

In his last six first-class games for Dhaka Metro, Islam has scored three half-centuries and two 150-plus scores to surge ahead.

The second and final Test will be played in Dhaka from November 30 before the two teams play three ODIs and three T20Is.