Mehdi Hasan Miraj and Tauheed Hridoy were out in the middle at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. Both the batsmen were batting against England in the warm-up match. But the journalists who went to cover World Cup cricket were paying more attention to the batting of other players. He is none other than Shakib Al Hasan.
The Tigers captain did not play either of the two practice matches. Shakib injured his leg while playing football during a practice session. This could be one of the reasons behind Shakib not playing the warm-up, but the team confirmed that it was predetermined that he would not play in those practice matches. However, he took part in the practice session yesterday with full enthusiasm. This is a relief for the Bangladesh team today before their tour to Dharamshala where they will play their first two matches.
However, the overall batting performance remains a matter of concern. If the win against Sri Lanka in the first warm-up match boosted the morale of the cricketers, yesterday’s match against England once again exposed the weakness of the top order. The opening pair made a partnership of 131 runs against Sri Lanka, but in the rain-interrupted 37-over match against England, the team lost 5 wickets in 153 overs.