Why is Nasir not in Sylhet?
Yesterday, during Sylhet Sixers' practice at the Sylhet District Stadium, the ever-popular Nasir Hossain -- who captained the franchise in their debut season in 2017 -- was nowhere to be seen and upon further inquiry, it was learnt from their media manager that he had not made the trip to Sylhet.
"Nasir is carrying an injury and the coach [Waqar Younis] said that it was global practice not to travel with players who would not play, and just to travel with 15 players," Sylhet Sixers media manager Tamzidul Islam told The Daily Star over phone yesterday.
The injury in question turned out to be the torn right knee ligament for which he underwent surgery in Australia last year. When pointed out that the injury was thought to be a thing of the past, Tamzidul said that his lack of form -- Nasir scored just four runs in the first two matches and was dropped for the third -- was another reason and that it was thought that having a senior player missing out and sitting on the dugout would not look good.
A few other franchises, when contacted, seemed unaware of the policy to travel with just 15 of the squad. Also, Waqar was the coach last season as well and there were certainly more than 15 Sixers when they travelled to Chattogram. They used 14 players in two matches in 2017 in Chattogram, presumably to correct course, having fallen upon hard times after a bright start. With a poor start this time around, it stands to reason that they would want as many options as possible. Tamzidul added that Nasir was the only squad member left back in Dhaka.
All signs seemed to point to a deeper reason than that stated, but it seems for now that it will have to wait.
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