A file photo from May 10, 2018 shows Bangladesh national cricket team members (L-R)Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hossain and Mahmudullah sharing a light moment during a training session at Mirpur. — New Age photo
Bangladesh national team players will reunite today for participating in the fitness training camp ahead of their busy schedule in the upcoming months.
The Tigers passed an eight-week international break after the participation in the Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka in March.
However, most of the players were engaged in domestic and overseas tournaments, including the Dhaka Premier League and the final round of Bangladesh Cricket League.
Bangladesh team will have a busy schedule in the coming months with their new international season starting with a three-match Twenty20 series against Afghanistan in Dehradun, India scheduled to start from June 3.
The Tigers will also feature in a full bilateral series consisting of two Tests, three one-day internationals and two Twenty20s against West Indies in the Caribbean soil in July-August before they compete in the Asia Cup in United Arab Emirates in September this year.
The 31-member preliminary squad will perform a multistage fitness test, better known as beep test, on the first day of the fitness training camp under the supervision of national team physio Mario Villavarayan.
However, the national team will not get the service of their interim coach Courtney Walsh and pace bowling coach Champaka Ramanayeke on the opening day as both of them are still on a leave.
Ace all-rounder Sakib al Hasan and pacer Mustafizur Rahman will miss the first phase of the training camp as both the players are currently in India representing Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians respectively in the Indian Premier League.
Sunrisers have already qualified for the play-off round of IPL, meaning Sakib might be needed to stay with his team until the end of the tournament on May 27.
Sakib will represent World XI in a charity match at Lord’s on May 31 alongside Tamim Iqbal.
He is expected to fly back to India to join the squad for the Afghan series in Dehradun.
This would be the first training camp for young seamer Yeasin Arafat, who got a surprise call-up in the national team preliminary squad for the first time.
‘It will be a great opportunity for me to practice with such senior players and I’m very delighted to get such opportunity,’ Yeasin told New Age.
Preliminary Squad: Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim, Sakib al Hasan, Sabbir Rahman, Mashrafee bin Murtaza, Mahmudullah, Liton Das, Mominul Haque, Mehedi Hasan, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Naeem Hasan, Abu Hider, Kamrul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Mosaddek Hossain, Anamul Haque, Abu Jayed, Nazmul Hossain, Nazmul Islam, Mohammad Mithun, Ariful Haque, Shafiul Islam, Sadman Islam, Yeasin Arafat, Abul Hasan and Abdur Razzak
Source: New Age.