Nahid Rana ruled out of Zimbabwe T20I decider; Bangladesh pacer faces race against time for Australia Tests

Bangladesh has suffered a major injury setback ahead of the third and final T20I against Zimbabwe, with pace sensation Nahid Rana ruled out of the series decider due to a side strain. The injury has also cast doubt over his availability for Bangladesh's upcoming two-match Test series against Australia.

The 23-year-old sustained the injury during the second T20I against Zimbabwe. After bowling just 2.3 overs, Rana was forced to leave the field, finishing with figures of 1/15. Earlier in the series, he had starred with the ball, registering career-best T20I figures of 4/26 in the opening match.

Rana is expected to be sidelined for two to three weeks, leaving Bangladesh anxious ahead of their red-ball assignment in Australia next month.

A member of Bangladesh's national selection panel confirmed that Rana will miss the third T20I and revealed that the team management is awaiting the scan results to determine the severity of the injury.

"He (Rana) is certainly missing the third T20I against Zimbabwe and we feel the side strain will take at least two to three weeks to recover," the selector was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

While the initial assessment suggests a short-term layoff, Bangladesh is hopeful that the injury is not serious enough to keep the young fast bowler out of the Australia tour.

"We are waiting for the scan report while we keep our fingers crossed, as we still have some time before the first Test against Australia," he continued.

The selector admitted that losing Rana for the Australia series would be a significant blow, considering the impact he has made in Bangladesh's pace attack over the past year.

"The way he is bowling at the moment, missing him in the Australia tour would be a big blow, so we are waiting to see the depth of his injury and actually how many days he will take to recover," he added.

Rana is now in a race against time to regain full fitness before the opening Test against Australia, which is scheduled to begin on August 13 in Darwin. The second and final Test of the series will be played in Mackay from August 22.

The report further stated that Bangladesh Test captain Najmul Hossain Shanto and the national selectors met at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Saturday to discuss preparations for the Australia tour, with Rana's fitness emerging as a key talking point.