Bangladesh left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman hinted that he is underprepared for the upcoming ODI home series against Sri Lanka starting next week.
Mustafizur during a media session in the sidelines of the national team training session at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium Wednesday pointed to the small time he has for homework before the start of the series.
Mustafizur along with all-rounder Shakib al Hasan joined the Bangladesh team in Mirpur Tuesday following a 12-day long hotel quarantine in Dhaka.
Prior to that, the two cricketers had a five-day stay in hotel room in India waiting for a decision on the future of this season’s money-spinning Indian Premier League Twenty20 after Covid-19 cases were reported among players and officials.
On May 5, the tournament got suspended and Mustafizur, along with Shakib, returned home on a chartered flight the following day.
Shakib and Mustafizur returned to Dhaka on May 6 and have since been in quarantine in two different hotels.
Mustafizur talks with Domingo during a nets session BCB
Majority of their colleagues however, have been part of training that started at the beginning of this month.
The first day, Tuesday, of the Bangladesh preliminary camp in Mirpur was marred by heavy rain.
This left Mustafizur and Shakib so far with only one proper training session, Wednesday, ahead of the three-match ODI series, scheduled to start Sunday.
“Quarantine in IPL and in Dhaka totaled some 17 days. In these days, I got to attend just one training session thus far and will play a practice game (Thursday). The situation is the same for Shakib bhai too. I will get two more training sessions before the series starts. So I have left my preparation (for the series) to Allah’s will,” said Mustafizur to the media Wednesday.
Mustafizur Wednesday spent time bowling in the nets.
When queried as to how he felt, Mustafizur said, “You cannot do a lot on the first day having come from a more than 17-day quarantine. While in the room all I could do was work on fitness. I am trying to slowly return to rhythm.”
Domingo briefs his charges BCB
Mustafizur in the IPL this season, before it got suspended, played all the matches for his team Rajasthan Royals.
The left-arm pacer picked up eight wickets in seven games.
Bangladesh will take on visitors Sri Lanka in the first ODI in Mirpur, while the second and third game of the series will also be played at the same venue on May 25 and 28 respectively.
Both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka teams will play intra-squad 50-over practice matches ahead of the series.
Bangladesh cricketers will play the practice game Thursday at BKSP Ground 4, while Sri Lanka will play theirs Friday at BKSP Ground 3.
