Veteran Bangladesh cricketer Mushfiqur Rahim has refused to tour Pakistan for the upcoming series, a team official revealed on Thursday (January 16).

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"Mushfiq(ur) rang me today to inform that he will not go to Pakistan. We are now waiting for his formal letter. Once he does that, we will leave him out of the series," chief selector Minhajul Abedin told AFP.

Bangladesh will play two Tests, one ODI, three T20Is in Pakistan and the matches will be split across three legs.

There will be three T20Is played from January 24 to 27, all in Lahore. The first Test will take place in Rawalpindi from February 7 to 11 in the second leg, and Bangladesh will return in April to play a solitary ODI and the second Test, both in Karachi.

Mushfiqur’s absence will certainly hurt Bangladesh’s chances as they are already without suspended all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan.

Minhajul said they are likely to name the squad for the series in a day or two.

Meanwhile, Pakistan, with greater security arrangements in place, just recently restarted hosting Test cricket after more than a decade. Cricket in the country had suffered badly since the Lahore terrorist attack on Sri Lankan team bus in March 2009.

(With AFP inputs)