26-year-old centreback Mehedi Hasan, who has not yet completed an entire Bangladesh Premier League campaign, was in wonderland after being named as a surprise inclusion for the national football team before the booters boarded a Nepal-bound flight to take part in a three-nation tournament involving the hosts and Kyrgyzstan's U-23 team.

Injury to centreback Tapu Barman and poor performances from other regular fixture at the back, Yeasin Khan, led to head coach Jamie Day calling up a couple of new faces for the defence. But Mehedi's inclusion came as a surprise to the player himself one, although it is an opportunity that he is eager to grab.

"Nothing could be bigger for my career than being called up for the national team. I never even thought of playing in the Bangladesh Premier League when I started my career in Bangladesh Army in late 2012. Playing for the national team was truly a distant dream for me," Mehedi told The Daily Star on the eve of his departure.

"I did not expect that I would get called up for the national team after playing the Federation Cup and only 11 league matches for Muktijoddha Sangsad," Mahedi said, adding that he would probably be working in another sector had he not secured a job in the Bangladesh Army in 2012.

“I bought a pair of boots for Tk 170, which I managed by saving the money provided for tiffin during camps of the District U-14 team for the JFA U-14 National Football Championship.” MEhedi Hasan

The said the 5-foot 10-inch defender represented Chattogram Abahani in the 2018-19 season during the second phase of the professional football league. After that stint at the port-city side, he joined Muktijoddha Sangsad ahead of the 2019-20 season, which was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, he seems to have won Day over in practice. "I had a good three-day practice under Jaime Day. I believe that I can do something to secure a place in the squad because if you take training seriously, it is possible to adapt to Day's style of play.

In his native Kurigram, Mahedi saved the money provided for tiffin in order to save up for his first pair of football boots.

"Football is more popular than cricket in our Bhurungamari upazila but I was inspired to play football after seeing my seniors. They played football with boots but I played against them barefoot. Upazila Krira Shikkha officer Parimal Chandra Saha taught me a lot about football. I bought a pair of boots for Tk 170, which I managed by saving the money provided for tiffin during camps of the District U-14 team for the JFA U-14 National Football Championship."

Mehedi will be trying to attract Day's attention in the rest of the practice sessions in Nepal ahead of the game against Kyrgyzstan on March 23.

Meanwhile, proven left-back Rahmat Mia will undergo a second Covid-19 test on Sunday after testing positive yesterday. However, it was good news for in-form winger Rakib Hossain, who flew with the team after testing negative in his second Covid-19 test after earlier testing positive.