He would fly to Chattogram from Dhaka on Friday evening and join the squad but whether he will feature in the match is still uncertain, said Chief Selector Minhazul Abedin.
His health will be reviewed and the Bangladesh Cricket Board medical team will be consulted before taking a decision on him playing the match, Minhazul said.
Shakib was left out of the Tigers’ Chattogram Test squad on Tuesday after testing positive and joined a growing list of absentees, with Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taskin Ahmed also unavailable for Bangladesh.
Head coach Russell Domingo was not much optimistic about the prospect of playing Shakib so soon.
"Coming straight into a Test match, we need to check his fitness and assess where he is. He has just come off COVID, and he hasn"t played much cricket,” he said.
“He"s obviously a big player for us and balances the team. But we need to see how he is tomorrow. He hasn"t batted or bowled for the last two or three weeks. It is five days of cricket. It is hot. There are all sorts of things to consider."
BCB President Nazmul Hassan on Wednesday rued Shakib being left out of the squad. “It"s unfortunate for us. I pray he recovers soon. I spoke to Shakib yesterday. He said he was doing well. He will undergo [COVID test] after several days as per our protocol,” he said.
Earlier last week, Hassan said the management had little idea about which games Shakib would play, referring to the all-rounder’s sudden change of heart in the past.
