'Relieved & hoping to improve'
Off-spinner Mehedi Hasan Miraz, who was one of a long list of injured national cricketers heading into the ongoing preliminary camp for the Afghanistan series and the tour of West Indies, informed that he is recovering well from his shoulder injury and that he is not facing any problem while bowling at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.
Mehedi has a labral tear on his right shoulder similar to the one pacer Mustafizur Rahman suffered and underwent surgery for in late 2016. Unlike Mustafizur, Mehedi does not require surgery, which was a source of great relief for the 20-year-old.
"I was worried about whether I would need surgery but luckily there is no need of surgery for my injury. I am trying to become 100 per cent fit as [BCB fitness trainer] Mario [Villavarayan], [BCB physio] Bayjidul [Islam] bhai and [BCB chief physician] Debashish [Chowdhury] bhai are helping me a lot," Mehedi told reporters.
The off-spinner, who first sustained the injury during his Under-19 days, had since been experiencing pain while throwing and bowling.
"I have started throwing but I am still not putting my 100 per cent effort behind it; I am trying to get the balance right first. There is no problem while bowling, which I was previously experiencing, and my throwing from 25 metres is fine. I will have to improve further that by working in the gym and through rehabilitation," he added.
The former Bangladesh youth captain, who was also named the player-of-the-tournament in the 2016 Under-19 World Cup at home, burst into the record books on his Test debut in the same year by picking up 19 wickets in the two-Test series against England, but the youngster has since been unable to match or even approach that early brilliance.
With 48 wickets in 12 Tests, Mehedi is still considered one of the lethal weapons for the Tigers along with Shakib Al Hasan in Test cricket, but he is yet to prove his worth in the limited-overs format, having bagged just bagged seven and three wickets respectively in eight ODIs and as many T20Is.
"I am working hard on my bowling and looking to prepare myself for all three formats. Obviously the expectation is high after my debut and I will try to improve myself as a player," Mehedi said.
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