Squad to be named after 2nd round
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) are not hurrying into the decision of naming the squad for the upcoming tour of India, starting from November 3.
The ongoing 21st edition of the National Cricket League (NCL) has been seen as the perfect platform for players to prove their mettle in order to earn a place for the upcoming tour. However, even though there have been a few notable performances in the first round, it seems that the board will scrutinise a few more areas before making their final decision.
Left-handed opener Imrul Kayes’s double-century for Khulna Division against Rangpur Division was the major highlight of the first round, with other players like Kamrul Islam and Taijul Islam also putting in impressive performances.
However, BCB chief selector Minhajul Abedin informed that the board would announce the final squad after observing the performances of players in the second round starting tomorrow.
“We will observe for another round in NCL and then we will announce the squad for the India tour. Imrul scored a double century, but just one round [of NCL] has been played. We will know better about how players are performing after another round.” Minhajul told reporters in Mirpur yesterday.
Bangladesh, who were humiliated by newcomers Afghanistan during their one-off Test last month, will face a much tougher challenge from top-ranked India. And while there are myriad areas to improve in, the fitness of the fast bowlers is making the chief selector sweat most ahead of the Tigers’ next challenge.
“We have been worried about the pace bowlers for the past six months. If we make a list of 10 pacers then we might find that five are suffering from injuries or are recovering.” said Minhajul, who thought that the Bangladesh bowlers still do not have the fitness to scalp all 20 wickets in a Test against the likes of India.
Minhajul also informed that ace pacer Mustafizur Rahman, who could not play the first round of the NCL due to a slight ankle problem, cannot bowl more than 15 overs in the second round.
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