Mahmudullah to miss Bangladesh's first warm-up match due to slight back pain

Bangladesh will face off Sri Lanka in the first official practice game today as a part of the preparation of the teams for the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup.

The match will start at 8 pm as per Bangladesh Time  at ADC Oval 2 in Abu Dhabi.

But Tigers' skipper, Mahmudullah Riyad will be sitting on the bench as a precautionary measure after he complained of a "slight back pain" which is troubling him for some time now. He also missed the unofficial practice match against Oman XI a few days ago. 

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) selector Habibul Bashar, who is currently with the team in Abu Dhabi, explained the plan is to keep the senior campaigner fresh for Bangladesh's tournament opener, a first-round game on October 17 in Al Amerat against Scotland.

"Mahmudullah has slight back pain. He won't have time to rest during the tournament when there will be back-to-back matches. So we are not taking any risks now. He will not play tomorrow's match; we will give him a bit of time," Bashar said.

The Tigers reached Abu Dhabi from Oman just on Sunday. They had a day of practice on Monday in a bid to prepare them for the warm-up game.

After playing against Sri Lanka, they will take on Ireland for their second and last official practice game on Thursday.

After playing the two practice matches, Bangladesh will travel back to Oman for their Round 1 phase.

Bangladesh failed to earn a direct ticket to the main competition and must now qualify from the eight-team first round. 

Mahmudullah and his troop will start their mission, taking on Scotland on October 17 after which they will face off hosts Oman on October 19 and Papua New Guinea on October 21. It is expected that they won't face any stern challenges from these sides and would effortlessly qualify for the Super 12s.    

Mustafizur  Rahman, who was in the IPL playing for Rajasthan Royals, has linked up with the Bangladesh side, and Shakib Al Hasan will do the same after his commitments with Kolkata Knight Riders are over.