Tigers start preparations amidst injury worries

Bangladesh team today started their training camp to prepare for the World Cup but the Tigers are hobbling in their preparations due to quite a few injury worries.

The major concerns for bowling coach Courtney Walsh are the injuries to the fast bowling department. Captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza is not one of those who is injured but his fitness too is a big concern. The veteran paceman has a lot of cricket in his legs and his past injuries means that his condition is always a concern for team management.

Pacer Mustafizur Rahman could be key in this World Cup but he picked up a injury after playing just one Dhaka Premier League (DPL) match.

"We are trying to get Mustafizur back into full fitness. Because he played just one game before getting injured, we are just trying to get him match fit.

"Rubel is just coming off an injury. Saifuddin has some problem with his tennis elbow. So those are major concerns right now. Because the guys have been playing cricket. I am not worried about the ones who have been playing. It's the ones who have picked up injuries," Walsh said.

Three out of the four pacers have issues with injuries but fitness wise the whole pace battery are at risk.

"My main concern right now with the bowlers is that we have got four of the guys, three of them are carrying injury and Mash [Mashrafe bin Murtaza]. I know Mash is a warrior, he will fight on, but he is not a 100 per cent fit either," he said.

With their being worries about the players travelling to Ireland, the Tigers are having to think of including backup pacers in the squad to rotate with the ones facing fitness problems.

"So, it's trying to get them fit trying to get back up in Ireland so we don't over use these guys or injure them. So, one of the things I have mentioned to the head coach is to see if we can get back up fast bowlers to go to Ireland, probably help us out while these bowlers are recovering. We have a couple more days to assess the injuries, to see how serious it is and then make a call," he concluded.

The training camp will go on till April 28 before Tigers embark on their tour of Ireland.