Final Test of fortitude
The two-day fitness camp for the national cricketers ended yesterday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. The players will now take part in the last round of the Bangladesh Cricket League's (BCL's) four-day matches which will begin from Sunday. The last round has been delayed according to the wishes of national team's head coach Chandika Hathurusingha, who wants to give his charges an opportunity for match practice ahead of the lone Test against India from June 10 at Fatullah.
A number of leading players however will not be seen in the match, as the board granted Shakib Al Hasan a six-day leave from today as per the all-rounder's wishes, while left-handed opener Tamim Iqbal has been advised by the medical team not to participate so he may continue with his rehab programme. Test captain Mushfiqur Rahim has also been advised a week's rest to heal his injured finger. But for the selectors and coach, the fitness and conditioning of pacer Rubel Hossain remain a big headache.
"He [Rubel] is not fully fit. Rubel could not reach our expected level of fitness today, so we can not declare him a hundred per cent fit. He has failed to achieve the desired level of fitness on time as he missed few important sessions owing to his personal problems," informed BCB physician Debashis Chowdhury yesterday.
One ray of sunshine for the selectors though is that Shafiul Islam, who was out of the Pakistan series due to a finger injury, will be available for selection.
The selectors are looking forward to getting back a fully-fit Rubel with the right rhythm in his bowling, as they do not have many pace bowling options available for the lone Test against India. The pace bowling department is the most vulnerable area of the Bangladesh Test team which was severely exposed during the second Test against Pakistan.
It would be a big problem for the team management to find a new ball pair for Mohammad Shahid, who had to bear an extra burden against Pakistan in the second Test, if Rubel does not fully recover from his side-strain in time for the match.
Chandika and the selectors plan to field Rubel in the four-day match so that he can be match fit ahead of the Test against India, but the pacer is unlikely to capitalise on the opportunity.
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