Mashrafe scare for Bangladesh
Sports Reporter, The Daily Star
Bangladesh are set for a blow before the start of the demanding series against India as pace spearhead Mashrafe Bin Mortaza has been complaining of back pain since yesterday.
Team management sources said that the leading paceman Mashrafe, who sunk India in the World Cup with a four-wicket burst, is unlikely to play the first ODI on May 10 at the Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
The braveheart cricketer looked uncomfortable in the middle after bowling for twenty minutes during Tigers' practice session under immense heat in Mirpur yesterday and immediately complained of back pain, an injury which creeps up on him from time to time.
The Narail quick, who has both his knees operated on, left the field with his hands on his back and a concerned look on his face.
"Right at the moment his condition is not good because he can't stand easily," a team sources said.
The team-management, which was supposed to pick the final eleven for the first one-dayer yesterday, however delayed the selection following Mashrafe's injury complaint. The selection panel headed by Faruque Ahmed is expected to get the final report from team physio Paul Close today.
If the 23-year-old fails to get the green signal from the physio then the selectors might turn to right-arm paceman Shahadat Hossain to share the new ball with Syed Rasel.
However, the encouraging factor is that the paceman had earlier complained several times of the back pain but dramatically recovered the following day only to show his true character as born fighter.
"In West Indies he complained of back pain several times but ultimately completed the tournament without any interruption. That's why we are hopeful that something like that can happen also this time," said a cricketer without disclosing his identity.
Source:
Daily Star