Photo: Firoz Ahmed
Tamim Iqbal’s back issue had resurfaced during the national team camp and he had been rested on Thursday owing to the pain. Three days later on his return to the Tigers’ practice yesterday, Tamim’s back problem has not shown signs of relenting.
According to team sources, Tamim was not supposed to be undergoing a fielding session yesterday. He, however, joined in with Nic Lee’s advice. While leaning for a ball close to the ground from Shane McDermott, Tamim felt the pain in his back. The team physio came running in but the left-hander asked him to talk to the coaching staff present. Tamim’s fielding session ended soon as it appeared that the circumstances of the drills changed for him, taking a few high catches instead of ground fielding drills before he left, understandably feeling some discomfort on his back.
Having rested for a bit, Tamim moved in for a net session. Here too, a carefully curated net session followed where he asked throwers to pitch it full. One thrower was changed following an abrupt length ball. Tamim would also play the pacers, Taskin Ahmed and Khaled Ahmed, with the instructions being pretty much the same. He looked comfortable with flowing drives on full deliveries. The back issue was still in force, causing him discomfort on anything slightly short.
When he moved in to play the spinners, a pull shot off Mehedi Hasan Miraz saw him pull up and grimace in pain while holding his back. In fact, the management wanted to see how things shape up once Tamim undergoes a training session since the back problem resurfaced.
Chief physician of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), Debashish Chowdhury, said, “We asked Tamim to go through the training session since we needed to know the extent of the pain when he bats. Yes, he had pain in his back and waist yesterday. It doesn’t, however, mean that it’s possible to say whether he will play or not [against Afghanistan]. We can’t say yet whether it is a risk. There are three days left and we will have him under observation till the last day before the match.”
Tamim’s absence may see Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Zakir Hasan as the prime contenders to open the innings. The duo batted at the nets yesterday with Zakir facing a fiery and energetic spell from Ebadot Hossain in particular. Ebadot once went up in a huge appeal, going right up to the batter and turning to pace-bowling coach, Allan Donald, who was standing in as the umpire and observing the proceedings. After a few seconds, Donald signalled a review, one that is akin to Tamim’s current injury concern. Whether it would be a risk to play him in the upcoming Test may just be a late call, depending on the player and the team management.
