Photo: Firoz Ahmed
The Bangladesh team appeared to have put in the hard yards over the past two days and thus had a rather light training session in Chattogram yesterday on the eve of the first ODI against Afghanistan today. The majority of the work went on behind closed-door sessions, with only Shakib Al Hasan, making a return following an injury, doing specific work in the nets with head coach Chandika Hathurusingha.
The pacers had a day off the day on Monday and, bar Shakib, the rest of the batters, including skipper Tamim Iqbal and the likes of Afif Hossain, Mohammad Naim and Najmul Hossain, had net sessions. Mushfiqur Rahim and Towhid Hridoy were a common denominator between the training session on both days, giving it the feel of a fragmented routine with separate days to focus on bowlers and batters.
Allan Donald worked in the morning with all five pacers in Taskin Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud and Mustafizur Rahman. They went about their rhythm routine while bowling near the centre wickets before partaking in a fielding exercise, namely high catches with Shane McDermott. With all five pacers fit, Tamim opined that ‘in these three games, you will see different combinations of pacers.’
Mushfiqur and Towhid did not need much guidance and Hathurusingha could put his attention to Shakib’s elbow position after the all-rounder brought it to his attention. The head coach also spent some time with Liton, going for a look at the centre wickets along with the batter, perhaps preparing him for a role that may befall him if Tamim’s injury worsens.
The Tigers’ ODI skipper has been struggling with back pain recently and informed during the press conference yesterday that he was available for the game today despite not being at a hundred per cent.
“After the game tomorrow I will be able to understand what the situation is. But till now, [the decision is] I am playing tomorrow,” the skipper said.
Indeed, there was a risk attached to playing with a problematic back. “Right now I feel that I am ready for tomorrow but during the game if I feel that I am not ready and it can be too risky then I, along with the medical department, will take a decision,” Tamim said.
Although Tamim’s eagerness to play has a risk, his selection is obvious. “If the captain is available, there isn’t a matter of selection. So it will mean he is playing,” a team management source said.
Tamim’s injury problem is a headache for the team management but in Shakib and Liton, they will now look to find an adequate response in case a leadership vacuum arises this series.
