Bangladesh's leading pacer Marufa Akter will not travel to New Zealand for the white-ball series scheduled to begin in December. The Bangladesh Cricket Board has confirmed her absence from the tour, which comprises three ODIs and three T20Is. The team is set to depart Dhaka on December 4, but Akter will remain in Bangladesh to focus on her recovery from an ongoing ankle injury.

Akter is currently undergoing rehabilitation following a period of restricted activity. She is expected to resume walking in the first week of December, a timeline that makes her unavailable for the upcoming series. The BCB has prioritised her complete recovery over her participation in the tour, recognising her status as one of the country's premier cricketers.

"She is unavailable for the tour of New Zealand as we don't want to rush her considering she is one of our premier cricketers and we need to make sure she returns back after recovering fully," a top BCB official was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

Why is Marufa Akter missing the New Zealand tour?

Akter is dealing with bone erosion at the base of her fifth metatarsal bone in her right foot, a condition that has deteriorated in recent weeks. She is currently wearing an Aircast boot as part of her treatment protocol. Before the recent Australia tour, she received an injection to address the injury, but the intervention did not yield the desired results, leading the team management to rest her for the final match of that series.

"The pain recurred in her ankle and we don't want that to happen again and so decided to give her as much time as needed to make sure she can bowl without any kind of discomfort going forward, because without full recovery she will face difficulty to do bowling according to her strength," the source added.

Akter's unavailability represents a considerable setback for Bangladesh's pace bowling unit during the New Zealand series. As a right-arm medium-fast bowler, she has established herself as a new-ball operator capable of unsettling top-order batters and is regarded as a potential long-term leader of Bangladesh's pace attack. Her recovery trajectory suggests she may be available for international cricket in the weeks following the New Zealand series, provided her rehabilitation continues to progress as anticipated.