After enjoying a three-week Eid vacation, the Tigers on Monday formally returned to the home of cricket at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS) to focus on their training camp ahead of series against Australia and South Africa.
Among the 29 cricketers of the Bangladesh preliminary squad which was announced on June 22 to face Australia and South Africa, a total of 22 players joined in the first phase of the camp on the first day.
The Tigers underwent for ‘Movement Competency Test’ to start the camp under the fitness trainer Mario Villavarayan who will train them for the rest of this month.
Villavarayan said, “In the last eight months we had no fitness training camp as they were busy to played overseas matches and series. Now I’ve got the opportunity to closely observe their fitness after a long time.”
Head coach Chandika Hathurusingha is expected return to Bangladesh at the end of July to joins the camp before the skill training camp will start.
Tigers dashing opener Tamim Iqbal, pace bowler Rubel Hossain, Liton Kumar Das, Anamul Hoque Bijoy, Tanbir Hayder, Shaifuddin and Abul Hasan Raju could not joined the camp.
Tamim is now in England and playing in the 4th NatWest T20 Blast for Essex Eagles, expected to join the camp at the end of July. Rubel could not join the camp due to a bizarre injury what he suffered after Bangladesh’s semi-final clash against India in the ICC Champions Trophy in Birmingham in June.
Liton, Bijoy, Tanbir, Shaifuddin and Raju are in Australia with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) High Performance side as their assignment for a two-week training camp, involving five one-day matches and one three-day game.
Australians are scheduled to be arrived in Dhaka on August 18 to play two Tests against the Tigers in Dhaka and Chittagong, but the tour is in a land of doubt as the pay dispute between Cricket Australia (CA) and the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) has yet to see any solution.
After the expected Test series against Australia, Bangladesh will tour to South Africa to play two Test, three ODIs and two T20Is in September-October.
Bangladesh Preliminary Squad against Australia and South Africa: Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Soumya Sarker, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Sabbir Rahman, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Mahmudullah Riyad, Liton Kumar Das, Mominul Haque, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Subashish Roy, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Rubel Hossain, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Sanjamul Islam, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Shaifuddin, Anamul Hoque Bijoy, Abul Hasan Raju, Al Amin Hossain, Nasir Hossain, Muktar Ali, Tanbir Hayder, Saqlain Sajib and Shafiul Islam.
