Last chance to impress

Bangladesh national team coach Jamie Day will keep an his eyes on the 10th round of the Bangladesh Premier League, beginning today, as he looks to finalise his 23-member squad for a FIFA friendly against Cambodia.

The national team will leave for Cambodia on Wednesday ahead of next Saturday's [March 9] match and for this reason, the 10th round of the BPL will see three matches each on Monday and Tuesday, paving the way for players to join the national squad.

Today, defending champions Abahani will play hosts Saif SC in Mymensingh, Chittagong Abahani will square off against Sheikh Jamal in Dhaka while NoFeL SC will host Mohammedan in Noakhali.

On Tuesday, leaders Bashundhara Kings take on Sheikh Russel in Nilphamari, Muktijoddha Sangsad play Brothers Union in Gopalganj and Rahmatganj face Arambagh in Dhaka.

Out of 13 participating teams, Day only called up players from six teams --Abahani, Saif SC, Sheikh Jamal, Bashundhara Kings, Sheikh Russel and Arambagh -- so their matches are expected to be important for the English coach, who will have only two days to prepare his charges before playing Cambodia.

Day is planning to drop four players from his 27-member preliminary squad before declaring the final squad on Tuesday.