De Kruif cuts squad to 30

Lodewijk de Kruif yesterday reduced the size of the preliminary squad for the Asian Cup qualifying play-offs to 30 from 36 by releasing five out of the six new faces after veteran defender Atiqur Rahman Meshu had ruled himself out of the camp due to an Achilles tendon injury.

The five new faces being Nurul Absar, Mannaf Rabby, Saikat Rahman, Kowshik Barua and Khalekuzzaman Sobuz , were picked up on the basis of their performance in the Independence Cup, but have now been released as they failed to impress the Dutch. Only striker Syed Rased Ahmed Turzo, who is a new face too, is still with the squad.

“De Kruif told them [the five omitted players] that they are promising players but still need to improve themselves for the national team. The coach believes those players can improve by playing in domestic competitions and if they perform well, they will be considered in the future,” said national team manager Satyajit Das Rupu.

The coach also had called up Sheikh Jamal's Sweden-based midfielder Joseph Noor Rahman for two training sessions, but the expatriate booter failed to impress the Dutchman as well. 

“The coach felt that Noor needs more time to get ready for the national team,” Rupu said, adding that the coach also wanted a practice-match against UAE on their way to Tajikistan, who will host Bangladesh on June 2.