Bangladesh will be without batting mainstay Mushfiqur Rahim for the final two One-Day Internationals against hosts New Zealand. The wicketkeeper-batsman ruptured his hamstring in the opening ODI in Christchurch, where Bangladesh lost by 77 runs, while running between the wickets and retired hurt on 42. Nurul Hasan is expected to take Rahim's place in the line-up.

Rahim could also miss out on the T20 International series that follows the ODIs if he doesn't make a full recovery in time. He is one of Bangladesh's most experienced batsmen and his absence will hit the visitors hard as they seek a fightback to stay alive in the three-match ODI series.

Coach Chandika Hathurasingha admitted that losing Rahim was a big blow to Bangladesh. "He's been one of the form batters as well as the wicketkeeper for a long time, across all three formats, so it's a blow but that's part and parcel of the game," he said.

The second ODI will be played in Nelson on Thursday (December 29).