Bangladesh will play a three-day warm-up game ahead of the home series against New Zealand in October. The two teams in the game, which will be held at Khulna’s Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium, will be made up of players from the national squad, said Shariful Islam, assistant manager, cricket operations, BCB.
“The warm-up game will be played on September 3 to 5 at Khulna. The players of the national squad will be divided into two teams,” Shariful informed.
Veteran paceman Masharfe Bin Mortaza, who has not played anything longer than a 50 over match since his last Test match in 2009, is expected to play in the game. The former national captain said that he has shed 11kgs and has been working hard at the national conditioning camp to prepare himself for a return to longer formats of cricket.
“I think my fitness at the moment is the best it’s been in the last few years. However, I’ll need to play a few games to know if I can play in Test matches.
“I am looking forward to play a few games in the Dhaka Premier League and also the warm-up game ahead of the New Zealand series. This will help me assess my condition,” informed the right-arm seamer.
Bangladesh national coach Shane Jurgensen was hopeful that Masharfe could complete a successful return. “He (Mashrafe) has worked hard in the past few weeks and has had improvement on daily basis. I am hopeful of his return,” said Jurgensen.
