Rhodes clear air of Saifuddin’s injury-drama
BCB : Roton Gomes
|| CF Correspondent ||
Bangladesh head coach Steve Rhodes said that Saifuddin was side lined due to back pain while took a swipe at the media for filing baseless report suggesting he was overplaying his injury.
Since the arrival of Bangladesh team in Southampton Saifuddin hogged all the spotlight after media report insisted that he had skipped the game against Australia by overplaying his injury.
‘’First of all, physical state, he's[ Saifuddin] is fine. He needed rest. His back was giving him some real problems. That's the real reason why he missed that last game against Australia. It was a physical thing. He couldn't bowl. You're not going to pick a player who can't bowl,’’ Rhodes told reporters ahead of the game against Australia on Sunday.
‘’His mental state, I actually -- I think this is a really, really important issue because the reports that came out were untrue. There was something about a meeting that I had regarding a replacement with Mashrafe and the man they had selected, but that didn't take place,’’ he said.
‘’So I would like you guys, before questioning the integrity -- and I appreciate it's probably people not in the room here -- but before questioning the integrity of players, make sure your information is 100 percent. I think that's the key message here. Most of the Bangladeshi reporters here, as well as the staff, we're desperate for us to do well, and anything that can be -- if it's a lie and it actually puts a player in a very difficult position, then that's not good for that player, and that's not good for Bangladesh,’’ he said.
‘’And I'm desperate to win this World Cup. That's the challenge. That's the mountain to climb. If anything gets in the way, then please be really sure of what people are telling you before you write it,’’ he concluded.
