Injuries the main concern
The Bangladesh national cricket team barely have any time to take a breather following the New Zealand series. They returned home yesterday after a comprehensive whitewash, losing all their matches in the three ODIs, as many T20Is and two Tests against the Black Caps. And now, they not only have to recover from the Kiwi blues, but also have to get set for a sterner test: their tour of India.
Although Bangladesh were drubbed by New Zealand, it does not mean that conditions were very difficult there. The wickets barely had any movement and were in fact quite good for batting throughout the tour. In India, they are likely to be tested with pitches that may have uneven bounce and a few that may stay low. In short, they will be tested with wickets that support the bowlers.
For now, the Bangladesh team management will have two things in mind. They first need to brush aside the disastrous tour and secondly, they will hope their key batsmen recover in time for the Test series.
All the injured players from the tour -- Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Mushfiqur Rahim, Imrul Kayes and Mominul Haque -- will undergo a fitness test on January 31. It is a test that could decide the fate of the players, those in the Test team, for the upcoming series.
Mushfiqur did not play the second Test in New Zealand because of pain in his thumb after enduring multiple blows in the first Test while scoring 159. A scan done there did not show any fracture and as such Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) sports physician, Debashish Chowdhury, is confident that the Test skipper will recover in time for the Test against India.
“Since there is no fracture, it's not much of a concern. But there is still pain and we are waiting for that to decrease,” said Debashish.
Both Imrul and Mominul underwent scans in Bangladesh upon their return and the results seemed positive.
“Imrul seems to be recovering quite smoothly from his grade one thigh strain. He has gone to his hometown now. Once he returns, he will give the fitness test and that's when we will have a better idea regarding him. He has been given his rehab plans and he also may need a bit of massaging. The main issue here is that we should not field a player when he hasn't completely recovered and so, we are extra focused,” said Debashish.
Mominul, who did not play the second Test due to a bruise in the ribcage, has also been asked to take rest.
“We taught him a few breathing exercises. That's the norm when you have a rib issue. Again, his problem is not serious since there's no fracture. Hopefully he can be ready in time for the next Test,” said Debashish.
Bangladesh's limited-overs skipper Mashrafe, however, will take a relatively longer time to recover. He still has his plaster on the right hand which he fractured while trying to stop a shot in the third T20I and is not likely to hit the nets before the third week of February. Bangladesh's next limited-overs assignment is scheduled in March against Sri Lanka and the team management has created a rehabilitation plan to get Mashrafe fit before that series.
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