Bangladesh cricketers were geared up to play a very important practice game yesterday as part of their Asia Cup preparations.
Shakib Al Hasan, who returned to the country on Monday, had a busy schedule since his return and yesterday was no different. The newly-appointed ODI captain came to the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium but did not feature in the practice game which was delayed by rain.
The practice game was supposed to start at 2:30pm but rain was on the offing, preventing the game from starting in time. In the end, the game started after 4:00pm. As the wait grew before the practice game, Shakib poked his head out of the dressing room door once but the star allrounder was not seen again.
In the end, Shakib was also not a part of the group that had featured in the intra-squad practice game.
Shakib, however, did not sit idle as it was learned that he had a one-to-one meeting with head coach Chandika Hathurusingha. The meeting divulged the plans for the Asia Cup. The Tigers are set to leave for Sri Lanka on August 27 to play the tournament which will be played in Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Preparations were made for the practice game in terms of making sure the team management had enough footage to analyse their players. Cameras were located in one part of the stands and it was learned that video feeds would be provided from various angles to the team management.
Shakib, set to take on the reigns of the ODI side from the Asia Cup, also used his time before the practice game to hold a meeting with the players. The players’ video footage from previous practice sessions was discussed while Shakib also discussed his plans for the different opponents that Bangladesh are going to face in the upcoming continental championship.
Mahmudullah Riyad and Soumya Sarkar had already been excluded from the Asia Cup squad but the two, along with the rest of the side, were part of the meeting with Shakib. Mahmudullah did not, however, play the practice game later but Soumya Sarkar was seen gearing up for the practice game. Both of the excluded stars have been undergoing practice with the backup players under coach Sohel Islam.
The idea, perhaps, is that Shakib is now looking to bring everyone under one umbrella and the likes of Mahmudullah and Soumya too have not been excluded from being part of plans with the ODI World Cup looming large.
Bangladesh will play Sri Lanka at Kandy in their opening game of the Asia Cup on August 31 before moving to Lahore, Pakistan to play Afghanistan on September 3.
