Rahi made ODI debut
Pic: Bcb
CF Correspondent
Bangladesh pace bowler Abu Jayed made his debut against West Indies as all-rounder Saifuddin was rested due to his back sprain at the Village Dublin on Monday.
‘’Saifuddin is having some kind of pain in the back and we don’t want to take any risk with him and so we are decided to make the debut against West Indies,’’ Minhajul Abedin told daily sun from Ireland on hours before the start of the play.
‘’We need to see how he performs in the ODI’s as he is a member of the World Cup squad and make our plan accordingly,’’ he said.
According to team sources Saifuddin had sustained back pain due to cold and knowing his importance team management did not want to take any risk with him by fielding him against West Indies.
According to eye witnesses on Sunday Jayed was seen practicing with the team and bowling in the net under the guidance of bowling Coach Courtney Walsh at while Saifuddin was found out to be nursing his injury with the physio during the preparation session ahead of the crucial encounter against West Indies.
A win will help Bangladesh reach the final if they can achieve a win and knowing the gravity of the game team management did not want to change the winning combination before this unexpected turn of event prompted them to think otherwise.
During the last week there was large speculation that Taskin Ahmed might replace Jayed in the 15-member World Cup squad of Bangladesh as they have time to make changes in the squad.
BCB president Nazmul Hasan said that it would be wrong to change Jayed without giving enough opportunity but insisted team management wanted him to be in the squad that includes coach Steve Rhodes and skipper Mashrafee bin Murtaza.
It would be unfair to change Jayed without giving enough opportunities,’’ Nazmul told reporters regarding the ongoing speculation on inclusion of Taskin who failed to make the cut due to injury but was included in the 19-member squad for the tri-nation in Ireland.
The inclusion of Jayed only indicates if he fails to perform he might have to pay it by paving way for Taskin while as the May 23 cut-off for the World Cup is fast approaching, the selectors will hope to find some answers soon.
Meanwhile Bangladesh pace bowler Taskin’s induction in the 15-member World Cup squad received a severe blow as Bangladesh Cricket Board included him for the 30-member elite camp on Sunday.
The camp that began at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium is formed with cricketers who had done well in the just concluded Dhaka Premier League in order to prepare them for the upcoming home series against Afghanistan A.
However, if BCB plan of action is taken into consideration it looks quite clear that Taskin is unlikely to make it into the squad unless someone need to be replaced due to injury.
Though selector Habibul Bashar remained tight lipped about the ongoing saga surrounding Taskin he clearly stated they are nursing the cricketers in the camp to prepare them for the upcoming assignments of Bangladesh A team.
“Bangladesh A team have some tours in near future. I think we’ll get players for A team from this camp. This camp will make them ready to take more challenges,” BCB selector Habibul Bashar said.
