Riyad glad to be on the right side of last-over drama

Bangladesh's pace spearhead Taskin Ahmed suffered an injury to his rib cage during the fourth game of the five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe, upsetting the team's plans for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies. 

The 29-year-old pacer looked in supreme form during the first four matches of the series, taking eight wickets and winning the player of the series award.

"I still have pain. Will do the scan and later can say about the severity of the injury but it seems 50-50," Taskin, casting doubts over his inclusion for the T20 mega event starting on June 2, told reporters before leaving the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Sunday.

Bangladesh Cricket Board's chief physician Dr Debashish Chowdhury told The Daily Star: "Taskin has an injury on his 12th rib on the right side which he suffered while diving in the last (fourth) game. He also had considerable pain today and we are sending him for scan."

The BCB physician further said that they can only confirm whether there is a fracture after getting the scan report. "In cases of side strain, initially there is quite a bit of pain for the first two-three days whether fracture is there or not."

Talking to reporters during the match, BCB president Nazmul Hassan Papon said that they would wait for the report to take a decision on the treatment of the player as well as the announcement of the squad for the T20 World Cup today.

As things stand, a repeat of the grim event in 2019 looms when the pacer was left in tears when an injury forced him out of the squad for the 50-over that year.
The Bangladesh team are scheduled to play three matches in the USA against the hosts on May 21, 23 and 25 as preparation for the World Cup.

A placard saying 'We love you Miraz' held by a Bangladesh supporter at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association stadium in Dharamshala on Saturday reflected the amount of trust and reliability that all-rounder Mehedi Hasan Miraz has been able to gain in recent times. 

The Tigers did not disappoint their fans and started off their World Cup campaign with a comprehensive six-wicket win over Afghanistan. 

Apart from Shakib's exploits with the ball, it was Miraz who managed to shine bright with both bat and bowl as he was instrumental in Bangladesh's win. A bowling figure of three for 25 runs to help bundle out Afghanistan for 156 was followed by a 73-ball 57, his third ODI fifty, which helped steer Bangladesh across the finish line. 

Photo: Mazhar Uddin

His nine overs included three maidens and applied the brakes in Afghanistan's innings. On the field, he saved crucial runs and capitalised on his form with the bat to brush off any jitters Bangladesh had after they lost two wickets for 27 runs. 

Having scored back-to-back fifties in the warm-up games against Sri Lanka and England, Miraz once again showed good composure, adding 97 runs for the third wicket with Najmul Hossain Shanto and laying the foundation for a comfortable win.

"I think Miraz is developing as Bangladesh's next world-class all-rounder after Shakib. The way he has been performing with the bat recently in various positions is remarkable and I think by the time Shakib retires, we will find another champion all-rounder," Mahmudul Hasan Shuvo, who works in the private sector in Dhaka told The Daily Star on Saturday.

Photo: Mazhar Uddin

A significant number of Bangladesh supporters had travelled from all parts of the world to Dharamsala, also known as the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh in the north-western region of India, to cheer on the Tigers. They made their presence felt as they made it to the stadium in numbers despite the hassle and discomfort of reaching the venue.

"We planned for this about six months back and since then have been saving money only to support the Bangladesh team from inside the ground in the World Cup. We have a group of over thirty supporters comprised of students, service holders and other professionals. As you know Dharamshala is quite far compared to the other cities in India, so it was a challenge for us to get here from Bangladesh before the first game. 

"We had to take the long road trip of over 12 hours from Delhi and despite the sleepless nights, we were determined to stand behind our team; No matter where the Bangladesh team plays, we want to motivate our players. I think we were able to outnumber the Afghan supporters today and hopefully, we will continue to do that in the coming days as well," he added.
 

Sarfraz Ahmed, the Pakistan captain, took the blame for his team's poor show at the Asia Cup, but said that there's time to rebuild the team for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

A convincing eight-wicket win over Hong Kong in the tournament opener suggested Pakistan were going to be a force. But it was followed by an eight-wicket defeat to India, and then, following a last-over win over Afghanistan in the Super Fours, losses to India and Bangladesh. As a result, Pakistan crashed out of the tournament they have won twice in the past.

"Yes, our performance was very poor. Our batting wasn't good, and we dropped a lot of catches. Our bowling was also patchy, and that's the reason we are out of the tournament," accepted Ahmed, who had a poor run with the bat himself, scoring 68 runs in four innings.

"I still believe we have a lot of talented players in the team. Look at Fakhar Zaman. Though he didn't have a good tournament, we have to back him. Babar Azam too. Imam has, thankfully, done well, but there's also Shadab and Hasan. We have to back them and take them along with us. We have to look at our bench too. We have a pool of players, and by the time the World Cup comes, we'll have a good team," said Ahmed.

"The World Cup is quite some time away, we have other engagements before that. Australia are coming, and then there's New Zealand. So we have to review our performance and see where we are falling short.

"We are losing too many wickets early, and the middle order has had to deal with the new ball, which isn't easy, and hitting quickly in the end isn't easy on these pitches. We'll have to get together and fix these issues."

While Ahmed called the performance 'alarming', he added, "There's no need to press the panic button. Yes, we have made mistakes as a team, and as a captain, I know that I didn't do well. But no need to panic, we need to back the players, look at the positions and see if there are people outside the team who can come in."

Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman recalled the time when he did not realise who 'Fizz' was during the initial stage of his international career.

In an interview released by the Bangladesh Cricket Board on Sunday, Mustafizur spoke about his career and the Bangladesh team while sharing one or two anecdotes such as regarding the moniker by which he is more renowned.

The left-arm pacer is known as 'Fizz' around the world. Commentators and teammates call him by this name wherever he plays. The 28-year-old recalled his reaction to the first time he saw the name.

"The board that we have where everyone's name is written during fielding session or bowling session, if those names are written in full, it becomes very big. That's why there was the name 'Fizz'.. The first day I didn't understand who it was. Later they told me that it was I.

"Then I went to play in IPL in 2016, the name 'Fizz' was popular there too. Since then it has been going on...," Mustafizur recalled.