Shakib, Fizz join up as training begins

A 23-member Bangladesh squad underwent their first official training session at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday ahead of the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka.

Although rain forced the cricketers to stay in the dressing room for the majority of the time, the Tigers did spend some time warming up and playing football.

Star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman joined the training session after their mandatory 14-day quarantine was relaxed to 12 days by the ministry of health.

Both cricketers returned to Dhaka from India on May 6 after the Indian Premier League was suspended. They quarantined at hotels before returning home on May 17.

“The board had appealed to the health ministry to relax the quarantine period for the two cricketers so that Shakib and Mustafizur could join the training from the beginning. The authorities accepted our appeal,” said Bangladesh Cricket Board physician Monjur Chowdhury.

Both cricketers had contrasting outings in the IPL.

Shakib could only play three matches for Kolkata Knight Riders, managing 38 runs and picking up only two wickets before being dropped from the playing eleven.

On the other hand, Mustafizur played all seven matches for Rajasthan Royals and took eight wickets, with the left-arm seamer looking in fine rhythm.

The Bangladesh team checked into the team hotel yesterday while the Sri Lankan team is expected to start group training from today after completing a three-day mandatory quarantine in their hotel rooms.

Both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are scheduled to play intra-squad practice games on May 20 and 21 respectively at BKSP. The selectors are expected to announce the final Bangladesh squad after the warm-up game on May 21 ahead of the first ODI on May 23.

Meanwhile, the BCB sold its television broadcast rights for home series for the next two years for 19.7 million dollars to local marketing agency Ban Tech.

They quoted just above the USD 19 million floor price set by BCB last month. The broadcast rights are applicable for the national men’s team’s home series from May 18, 2021, to October 5, 2023.

The Tigers are scheduled to play nine home series during this period, comprising seven Tests along with 18 ODIs and 19 T20Is.